Dark Ashes: Prowler of Kanto
by Xeniacal
Summary: Nobody knew the secret Ash had, save for Professor Oak and his adoptive mother, Delia Ketchum, and he had wanted to keep things that way, but eventually, things change. *OVERALL plot line is the same, but Ash will get more Pokémon, and I will add personal flares to it*
1. chapter 1

Hello to all those who decided to check out my story!

I hope this isn't a complete let down to Pokémon fans, and of course...

 ***DISCLAIMER - I do not own Pokémon nor any of the characters in it***

_

Ash Ketchum was a human to many of the people he's met. There was Gary Oak, a particular human who he hated, but they somehow managed a semi-stable... 'friendship' throughout their childhoods.

Professor Oak he had eventually met, and was a nice human, Ash had learned quickly; as only he and one other human knew what he truly was.

The other human to know what he was, was his surrogate mother, Delia Ketchum. She was sweet, caring, stern at times, and not like any other mother. Delia had raised him from an egg, which she had found just off the road to Veridian City.

Of course, the only way he could meet a human, his mother had asked, was if he was a human.

_

BEEP BEEP BEEP

The alarm went off, the abnormally loud clock making young Ash fling his arm, only to knock it to the ground.

Hearing a cracking noise, he finally opened an eye to see. Ash leaned over the side of the bed, only to find his clock, in pieces.

"Oh man" He muttered.

His eyes drifted over the broken pieces, settling over the timepiece.

It read: 10:48.

Ash's eyes widened, and the Zorua threw himself off his bed.

_

A tumbling noise, followed by a flash of light, accompanied Ash down the stairs.

"What in the name of Mew, Ash!" Delia exclaimed from the kitchen. "Please be more careful! Your illusions may be solid, but please don't test it!"

The boy sat up, rubbing the back of his neck, before replacing his Official Pokémon League hat back onto his head.

"Heh, sorry Mom." Ash chuckled. "I'm just really excited for today! I can finally get a starter from Professor Oak!"

Delia laughed, remembering when she, Ash, and Professor Oak had made a deal when Ash was seven, about two years after he had almost perfected human speech.

She looked at the clock, and her eyes widened, lifting Ash to his feet. "Then you better hurry young man, Professor Oak won't have starters all day."

He grinned, wrapping his mother up in a hug. "Alright, mom! I'll see you when I get my first Pokémon!"

Delia smiled, watching as her adopted son ran through the front door, grabbing his backpack as he did.

"At least his illusions are as solid as ever." She said, to nobody in particular, waving until he got out of sight.

_

Ash's P.O.V.

When I reached his lab, the deafening noise of cheerleaders were silenced by a severly prideful Gary Oak walking out of his grandfather's lab.

I had known Gary since I was five, when I finally perfected human speech for that age.

My mom never let me reveal myself, because she thought that it might put me in danger.

Gary spotted me among the crowd, and laughed out loud. "Ha! Ashy-boy finally made it!" He walked down, coming face to face with me. "Too bad there aren't any more Pokémon, and I got the best one, a Squirtle!" He sneered, lifting a Pokéball up with a water droplet engraved into it.

I swear I wanted to give him a Slash right there and then.

I barely held back as he pushed his way past me, settling for a glare that might as well of been a Mean Look.

I turned from him and ran into Professor Oak's lab, seeing the old man sitting at his computer.

"Professor Oak!" I said, gaining his attention.

He looked surprised to see me.

"Oh. Hello, Zor-"

"I have a name, you know." Ash said matter-of-factly.

He raised his hands in defense, and chuckled nervously.

"Right, sorry Ash." He stood. "I'm guessing you came here for your first Pokémon!"

The little bit of tension disappeared, and I nodded eagerly. "That's right! Do you have anymore? Gary said that you didn't have any."

"Well, there is one but-"

"I'll take it!" I cut him off.

He flustered. "But you don't even-"

I shook my head. "Nope! So who is it?"

Oak took a breath. "He's a Pikachu. He doesn't like humans, but that shouldn't be a problem with you."

He stepped back, pressing a button on his computer.

I watched as a small pillar came out of the ground, a Pokéball with a lightning bolt engraved on it.

When it stopped, Oak gestured silently towards it.

I stepped forward and picked up the ball. I pressed the little button on the front, releasing the Pikachu onto the table.

The Pokémon stood still, glaring a Razor Wind at me.

I moved my arms to pet him, when Professor Oak said warningly, "Ash, I wouldn't do that if I wer-"

Too late. The Pikachu's cheeks sparked.

The feeling of electricity coursing through my body was instant. I screamed, unaware of the power of the little creature.

Then again, I too, am just a little Pokémon.

I fell over, my form shimmering, before I barely managed to keep it up.

I stood, looking at the Pikachu with wide eyes.

"Awesome! I never knew that's what being shocked is like!"

Pikachu blinked, _"You... liked being shocked? You aren't going to hit me?"_

I crossed my arms. "I didn't really like it, but it was cool. Also, what kind of monster does one have to be to hit a Pokémon?"

He blinked again. _"And you... understand me?"_ He fixed me with a suspicious glare. _"Just what kind of human are you?"_

I waved off the question. "I'll answer that later. Right now, I need to show you to my mom."

I lifted the Pokéball, and Pikachu flinched.

 _"Wait wait wait. Don't put me back. I don't like it in there."_

I looked at the ball, understanding how it was like inside.

Granted, I was only in it for like, one minute, but it was enough to leave an imprint.

"Okay..." I said, dropping my arm. "I won't put you in your Pokéball."

I placed it in my backpack. My real backpack.

I said, "Okay, come on." and reached out to pick him up again, but he jumped down and started towards the door.

 _"Actually, I'll be able to walk. I still don't fully trust you."_

I turned to Professor Oak, who asked, "Why didn't you tell him that you're a Pokémon?"

I shrugged. "I'd much rather earn his trust as a trainer first."

Oak nodded, and exclaimed, "Well done, Zor-"

I gave him a look.

" _Ash_!" He corrected himself, then continued "I'm sure you two will be great friends within the week!" He stated confidently.

_

Pikachu had been kind enough to wait for Ash by the front door of the lab. When he walked out, Ash was greeted with the sight if his mother and a few neighbors, all cheering for him.

 _"Wonder who brought the circus to town?"_ Pikachu said blandly.

Ash, walking down to greet them, replied defensively, "Show some respect. That's my mom, and a couple of our neighbors."

Pikachu jumped, then started walking behind him. _"Right... I already forgot you can understand Pokémon."_

They reached the bottom, and Ash's mother greeted him... with a huge hug.

"Ash! I'm so proud of you! Finally going to chase your dream! My son, a Pokémon Master!"

"Mooom! You're embarrassing me!" He said playfully, laughing.

She let him go, before taking off his backpack and unloading the stuff into his arms, ignoring Pikachu's Pokéball.

"...rubber gloves to clean all the clothes I packed you, along with several brushes for your hair, as well as a few of your old books, in case your reading skills get rusty." Delia said, lowering her voice for the last part.

Ash quickly shoved the contents back into the bag, saying, "Mom, I'm a Pokémon Trainer now, and I can take care of myself."

Delia smiled, teary eyed, but then noticed the Pikachu on the ground by Ash's feet. He caught the look and lifted Pikachu into his hands, holding him up.

"This is Pikachu! He's my first Pokémon!" He said, showing his mom.

She gave the Pikachu a look, then said, "It looks kind of weird..."

And he didn't like that, responding with a _"I'm weird? Look at your son!"_ , and a blast of electricity to knock everyone on the ground.

"It was just a joke..." Ash puffed out, before falling onto the ground with the rest.

Startlingly, Delia recovered first, noticing the bright flash coming from Ash, and became nervous.

A second later, the flash receded, and, still human, Ash slowly sat up, a ticked off Pikachu next to him, nobody seeming to notice what happened.

"Woah... two in a row? I think that's a new record..." He chuckled.

Oak laughed from behind him, exclaiming, "I guess those rubber gloves your mom packed you will come in handy!"

_

If you liked the first chapter, please leave a review if you want me to continue posting it on here.


	2. Chapter 2

I forgot to do this last chapter, but no time like the present, right? **I do _not_ own Pokémon**

 _"This is_ not _dignified!"_ Pikachu complained from behind Ash, while being dragged along by a cord wrapped around his stomach, held by Ash, who was wearing the rubber gloves.

Leaving Pallet Town a few hours ago, that was not his first time complaining about it.

Suddenly, Ash stopped and knelt down to Pikachu, and took a deep breath.

"We agreed no Pokéball, right?" He said, scaring the Electric Mouse Pokémon at how calmly he spoke.

Pikachu quickly nodded.

"Unless you're going to willingly follow me, I'm going to have to keep doing this. I really don't like it, but if it means that you won't run away, I will." He stated.

Ash unrapped Pikachu from the cord, disposing it and the rubber gloves into his backpack.

"Happy?"

 _"Nope."_ Pikachu said, taking the first chance he got and ran over to a tree, climbing up a ways, out of Ash's reach and watched him.

Ash groaned dramatically. "What will it take for you to-" He cut himself off, hearing the grass a bit off the path moving. He stood, moving over to it, when a Pidgey hopped out.

 _"Munchin on the grass,"_ It sang _"munching on the grass till I find a Ca-ter-piie"_

Ash's Pokédex lit up. _"Pidgey, a flying Pokémon. Of all the flying Pokémon, it is the easiest to catch and train... even for you."_

Ash ignored the comment and took a Pokéball from his belt. He aimed, and threw the ball, hitting the Pidgey and making it disappear in a red flash into the ball.

"Wait for it..." He looked closer, seeing the Pokéball twitch back and forth for a few seconds before finally...

...breaking. The Pidgey looked at Ash and flitted its tail feathers, before turning and taking off.

"What!" Ash groaned, scowling. "It was _so_ close!"

Pikachu had started laughing, so Ash, already running on a short fuse, picked up the closest rock and chucked it at his 'partner'. "Quit laughing!" He added, seeing Pikachu dodging the rock Ash threw.

Pikachu continued to laugh.

Ash growled, before moving to take a blanket from his backpack, instead seeing a Rattata rummaging through his stuff.

"Hey! Get out of there, that's my stuff!" He yelled, getting a yelp and the Rattata ran, carrying a bag Ash recognized.

"Come on! Not those! They're my mom's mixed berry brownies!" He whined.

The Rattata looked back and sneered. _"Then you shouldn't have left them on the ground!"_

Ash looked back into his bag, and sighed.

"Well, at least there are still a few more..."

Ash's Pokédex lit up again.

 _"A Forest Pokémon, Rattata. It loves cheese, nuts, fruit, and berries."_

"This is no forest! There's a tree every, like, 15 meters!" Ash retorted.

 _"It also comes into open fields to steal food from stupid travelers."_

Ash frowned, annoyed. "Make another comment like that, and I'm turning you off!"

Pikachu burst out laughing again.

"Whatever!" He exclaimed, picking up another rock, taking aim at a silhouette...

...and he threw the rock at it.

The silhouette squawked in surprise and pain, turning around.

That stopped Pikachu's laughing fit.

 _"Uhh... you do realize you just threw a rock at a Spearow?"_ He asked.

There was a caw and the form of the small bird tackled Pikachu, getting a thundershock in return, blasting it away.

It crashed a few feet away, looking into the air and yelling, _"Heeellllp!"_

Ash's inhuman sense of hearing picked up the flapping of a hundred wings before he turned.

The other two of them looked into the distance, noticing a flock of them.

Pikachu looked to Ash, both of them taking a step away from the incoming flock.

 _"Should we run?"_

"...yes. Yes we should."

And so they ran.

The flock was rapidly approaching, literally pecking at their heels.

"Don't worry, Pikachu. You may be stubborn and hard headed- Ow!"

He cut himself off, getting pecked, and producing a small flash of light.

He then continued, "- but I want you to know, I'd protect you with my life!"

With quick breaths, Pikachu gained an edge of speed, leaving Ash in the dust, or literally, in the flock of Spearow.

However, gaining ground also left an opening, one that the Spearow exploited, scratching and pecking at him, getting grunts and small whines of pain.

Ash gritted his teeth, and started to glow.

The blue-white glow spread to around Ash's body, forcing him out of his illusion.

His deep-red and black tipped hair elongated to the back of his knees, with a metallic turquoise hair band.

His limbs became larger, with two three-clawed arms and feet, giving him significantly better traction on the ground, much better vision from his red eyes, along with much better hearing (which was still mostly just squawking), thanks to larger and sharper ear shape, and his snout became pointer, allowing for a better sense of smell.

Thankfully, his stuff stayed on him while this happened.

Ash roared, shoving his way past a bunch of startled Spearow, making his way to Pikachu.

"I got you Pikachu!" He yelled, surprising himself by speaking not speaking in Pokémon.

When he reached his starter, Ash bent down and lifted him into his arms, ducking low to protect himself and Pikachu, gaining some more speed while doing so.

Ash had gained ground quickly, however he had reached a waterfall.

Ash glanced behind him, checking the progress of the Spearow Flock, before taking a deep breath, and jumping.

Ash shifted into the form of a Pidgey, before flapping helplessly and shouting, "Why don't I have the hang of this?!"

He flashed back to his Zoroark form and wrapped an arm around Pikachu before they hit the water.

It is truly amazing how Ash Ketchum never figured out how to swim as a Water Type, so he improvised by swimming underneath as best he could.

_

Misty Waterflower was having a normal day.

Just sitting by the lake, fishing for some Water Type Pokémon.

On a... _completely_... normal day.

Ha. As if.

She sat there, watching her bait, waiting for a good Water Type to come by aaaand...

"Bubbles!" Misty exclaimed as she watched the number of bubbles increase. "This is gonna be a big one!"

There suddenly was a strong tug, one that if she wasn't preparing herself, she would've lost the _rod_ , not just the bait.

"Woah!" She exclaimed as she battled with her catch. After a moment, she gave a mighty tug, and two Pokémon came out of the water.

The two Pokémon landed off to her side, and she threw a Pokéball right at the big, hairy one before she realized what she was doing.

It hit the coughing Pokémon with a thud, and the Pokémon quickly stood, before glancing at her, taking the Pokéball that hit it and crushed it with a clawed hand.

The strange thing, besides the unknown Pokémon, was that it was carrying a rather non-responsive Pikachu, and that it was wearing a Pokéball belt, a backpack, and an Official Pokémon League hat.

It looked around, then flashed. When the light died away, a young boy stood there, checking his Pikachu.

Misty exclaimed, "What are you and what have you done to that Pokémon?!"

"I didn't do this!" He replied hotly. "And does it matter what I am? How do I help him?"

"R-right." She pointed "Okay, there's a Medical Center nearby, in Viridian City, you can heal your Pokémon there."

"A Pokémon Center? That's great, but-"

There was a multitude of caws in the distance.

The boy took a step back, his eyes widening. "They're still after us... I've gotta run!"

He ran to Misty's bike, placing a semi unconscious Pikachu into the basket.

"Hey! What're you doing?!" She exclaimed.

"I'm borrowing this." The boy stated firmly, and pedaled off in the direction of Viridian City.

"W-wha... That's my bike!" She yelled after him.


	3. Chapter 3

For those concerned, Zoroark Ash **will** be smarter than canon Ash. For ships, I have a plan that I think you guys will like, but it will not be for a while, however.

Once again - **_I do not own Pokémon_**

_

Ash pedaled on, wincing as he tried to keep his illusion up. However, he gave up altogether as mild exhaustion and the pain from all the scratches and pecks from earlier started to set in.

Ash reached a clearing, and the Zoroark pedaled as fast as he possibly could.

There was a sharp crack of thunder, and Pikachu stirred slightly.

Ash looked down, worry in his eyes.

"Stay with me, Pikachu. I swear I'll get you to that Pokémon Center. We're so close."

Ash's ears perked, hearing the Spearow approach. Then another clap of thunder sounded, making them flatten.

He went to glance back, but that did nothing except distract him, so Ash missed seeing the small hillock that sent him into the air.

When the bike touched down, Ash swirved, then he and Pikachu went flying into the mud.

Ash landed funny on his left leg, ultimately sending the Pokémon to the muddy ground, as well as earning a sharp yelp of pain from him.

Ash gritted his teeth, trying to ingore the pain, and looked around for his starter, before finding him lying still, eyes open.

He used his new windpipe to roar in sadness and anger, and slammed a fist on the ground. He dragging himself in the mud over to Pikachu.

Ash placed a clawed hand carefully on top him, getting a quiet _"Ash...?"_. He glanced back over his shoulder, his hair moving out of the way.

Lightning flashed again, this time illuminating the flock momentarily, and it started to rain.

Ash did something he never thought he would do, and pulled out Pikachu's Pokéball.

"Pikachu, please" He said to his barely conscious starter, enlarging the Pokéball with a tap of his claw.

"This is the only way I can keep you safe." Ash blinked back small tears, continuing, "There... there's still a chance of you surviving if you listen. Please, just listen to me this one time, and... and then you can go on with your life.

Ash breathed deeply, preparing himself for what he's going to say next. However, it did nothing to stop the tears flowing from his eyes.

"You... can be free without someone as... worthless as me holding you down - go on with your life, but leave me to mine."

Ash placed the Pokéball next to Pikachu, and stood, favoring one leg, and spread his arms, facing the Spearow Flock directly.

Little did Ash know, Pikachu heard every single word he said.

Ash looked directly at the Spearow, and cried, "Spearow! Do you know who I am?! I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

He blinked back more tears, "Go ahead and kill me if you want! Just leave Pikachu alone!"

Behind him, Pikachu started to stand.

"But know this one thing! I'm destined to become the world's greatest Pokémon Master, with my friends by my side!" Ash turned his head to talk to Pikachu, but didn't see him.

"Go into your Pokéball. You'll be safe then."

Ash turned back around and yelled with a voice full with emotion, "Come and get me!"

More lightning flashed as the Zoroark braced himself, seeing the oncoming Flock diving at full speed torwards him.

Ash felt something running up his hair, and gasped as he saw Pikachu jump off his shoulder.

Ash reached out to Pikachu, to prevent him from getting hurt, but something incredible happened.

The final bolt of lightning that Ash remembered struck Pikachu, allowing the little Pokémon to be supercharged, _and_ allow him to discharge all of that unstable electricity almost instantly, throwing Ash back into a tree and conducting - mostly - into the Spearow Flock.

_

When Ash finally came to, the first thing he noticed was that it was morning, and Pikachu was lying in front of him, more asleep than unconscious.

When he opened his eyes, the rays of the morning sun were already bathing the clearing in a soft orange glow.

Ash moved, grimacing at the sores he felt all over his body, settling a clawed hand over his snout, suddenly realizing he never got acquainted with his new body, as he didn't really have the time to yesterday.

The young Pokémon shook himself, trying at least to get some of the dirt out of his fur and long hair.

He reached for Pikachu, picking him up gently in his arms and looking around to survey the damage from last night.

As Ash sat back against the tree, looking down at his partner, who was breathing gently in his arms.

"Looks like we made it, bud." He said quietly, with a small chuckle, hugging the yellow mouse to his chest. The tears were sudden, but Ash couldn't control the sudden outburst of emotion.

That girl's bike was a charred mess of twisted metal, and there were at least two or three dozen toasted Spearow on the other side of the blast zone, to which Ash's stomach growled.

However, there was a sudden loud caw, and Ash flinched, covering Pikachu, before he looked up, seeing a large phoenix-like bird with a golden blaze surrounding it, flying off into the distance, underneath a rainbow.

"Woah..." Ash marvelled at the beast, before fumbling for his Pokédex.

He held it up towards the bird, and snapped a photo before getting an error message from his 'Dex.

Ash stretched, watching the Pokémon fly away, before glancing around once more.

'I'm sure I can have a quick meal to-go this morning...' He thought, reaching down to grab a nearby smouldering Spearow, which was still warm, and opened his mouth in preparation to sink his sharp teeth into his meal.

_

As Ash was walking through the forest, he offered some charred Spearow to his half awake Pikachu, who declined, but was thankful for the offer.

They had agreed that they would hold any questions about each other until they were both feeling better.

 _"Do you have any berries I can munch on?"_ Pikachu asked in a weak voice, too tired to question much of anything right now. Arceus could've floated down from the sky to speak to them, and he would've been indifferent.

Ash brought his bag around on his arm, and took one of his mother's mixed berry brownies and handed it to him.

"This should help." He explained. "They're made up of all kinds of berries, to ensure that whatever's affecting you would be cured." He did a half shrug, not disturbing Pikachu while he took an adorably small bite. "They've always worked for me."

When they reached the top of the hill, Ash saw their first destination, and he quickly threw the half-eaten Spearow into a nearby bush. He flashed back to his human form, and started running to the city, still limping a bit, but he was trying to get to the Pokémon Center as fast as possible.

_

"Come on, come on." Ash said to himself as he ran down the road of Viridian City, looking around for a Pokémon Center.

"Where is the Pokémon Center!" He growled, still not seeing it.

He reached a building, and he was about to run past it, when a hand grabbed onto his shirt collar.

"Hold it, young man. Where do you think you're going with that Pokémon?" A female voice accused suddenly.

Ash tried pulling out of her grip, responding hotly, "I'm _trying_ to help him!" He tugged again, seemingly uncaring that he was actually tugging his _fur_ "But _someone_ is preventing me!"

He was pulled backwards, coming face to face with an Officer Jenny.

"Who are you to talk to me like that?"

"I am trying to get to the Pokémon Center!" He stepped forward, with a small limp in his step, and glared at Officer Jenny, making her recoil a bit.

Ash turned away from her, looking over Pikachu. He was about to continue his run when Officer Jenny spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry" She relented, apologizing "I thought you were stealing it."

"So, you're a Pokémon Trainer?"

Ash nodded, impatient and eager to get to a Pokémon Center.

"Well, show me your ID, and you can go."

 _That_ confused Ash.

"ID? We only just came here from Pallet Town an-"

"Interesting!" Officer Jenny said, cutting the boy off. "You're the fourth person I've seen come from Pallet."

Ash frowned for a second, realizing he was the last person to start his journey.

"That means Gary already came through here..."

"It's very odd to see a Trainer who carries their Pokémon in their arms, instead of a Pokéball."

Jenny leaned closer, giving Ash a look.

"How do I know you didn't steal that Pikachu?"

"Especially since you don't have any identification?" She pressed.

Ash exclaimed, "Please let me through! I would never steal a Pokémon! I need to get him to a hospital!"

At this point, Officer Jenny spotted his Pokédex.

"What's that?" She asked.

Ash looked confused, so she clarified.

"In the side of your pack?"

"Oh, that's my Pokédex." He said, pulling it out.

"Perfect!" Officer Jenny exclaimed. "This will solve our problem!"

Ash fixed her with a blank stare.

"What?" He deadpanned, getting sick of her 'all about me' attitude so far.

Ash then bristled and replied almost hotly.

"That's not _our_ problem! That's your's! My problem revolves around my hurt Pikachu!"

The Jenny seemed to ignore the comment, and proceded to scan the ever impatient boy's Pokédex.

She held it out to Ash, who took it, and shoved the device back into his backpack.

"Everything seems in order, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." She said, now pulling him back to the station. "Now, I have a much faster way to the Pokémon Center..."

_

Aaaaaand Chapter 3 is up!

It seems Ash can get a little... defensive when it comes to getting a Pokémon help.

I wonder how that'll work out for him later...

See you all next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello one, hello all!** **I hope I haven't disappointed anyone with my story!**

 ** _If_ anyone is either not satisfied or disapointed, the review button isn't that far away and you know how to type.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

_

"Officer Jenny! Slow down!" Ash cried from her motorcycle's sidecar... while speeding down one of Viridian City's roads, one arm holding Pikachu to his chest, the other gripping on the sidecar like his life depended on it - which it kind of did.

The officer shouted back over the noise, _increasing_ the bike's speed. "But we're making good ground!"

"Why did I agree to this!" He cried rhetorically, tightening his grip.

_

Back at the police station, a tiny hook was placed underneath the wanted poster unnoticed. It lifted the paper up and off of the wooden board it rested on.

The hook brought said poster up, and into the hands of a waiting blue haired man, who was standing in a green basket that hung from a Meowth shaped hot air balloon.

The man made a noise of disgust.

"A wanted poster? I hate the photographer who took my picture. It's too dark to make out any features!"

A purple haired woman turned to look, and smirked. "They say a picture can capture the soul of the subject."

The man laughed, looking at her.

"Exactly, Jessie. They'll be sorry that they ever saw _this_ face."

A horribly accented voice came from near their feet.

"We're all sorry ta see your face, James! Stay focused, ya lump! We're here to capture raare and unusual Pokémon. Meeoowth!"

The other two turned to face him, offronted.

"Absolutely!" Jessie exclaimed.

"But of course!" James followed.

"But hey!" Continued the Pokémon, as the hot air balloon moved. "I'm da top cat! Remember dat!"

_

As Ash held on for dear life, Jenny's eyes were fixed on the dark road ahead, the only thing illuminating it were the motorbike's head lights, along with streetlights that were spread widely apart.

Caring only for Pikachu at the moment, he kept doing small check ups to make sure he was still alive. Managing to focus mainly on his injured starter, Ash was able to shove the feeling of fire in his left leg out of his mind.

Lifting the mouse Pokémon to his ear, Ash listened for a heartbeat - anything - to make sure his starter was still with him.

Then he heard it. A small, _thump, thump, thump._

The Zoroark-cloaked human let out shaky breath. At least Pikachu was going make it to a Pokémon Center.

Ash relaxed a little, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Then Officer Jenny called to him. "I see the Pokémon Center!"

At those words, Ash looked up, seeing a large red and white building, with a large red Pokéball symbol resting on top of the doors in the front. In the evening sky, and as the sun was setting, it looked bright against the dark forest next to it.

Ash looked at her like she was crazy.

"Pokémon Center? I've never seen one so big!" And it was true. He's been to several during his childhood; whenever he got a serious injury, or for when he had gotten sick. The ones he went to, however, were usually half the size of the one he currently was looking at.

They were getting ever closer to the Center, and Officer Jenny looked like she had no intention of slowing down. Ash had a incredulous look on his face, and turned to Jenny, who then spoke.

"Hold on! This is gonna be tricky!" She yelled, her face set solely on the sets of stairs that were _supposed_ to be preventing them from getting to the actual Pokémon Center.

"What?! No, stop the vehicle!" Ash cried, but it was in vain.

The motorbike hit the first steps, sending the two Pokémon and one human into the air; one of the two Pokémon yelling in terror.

When they touched down, Officer Jenny slammed on the brakes, skidding through the automatic doors and into the Center, stopping at the front desk; behind which stood a mad Nurse Joy, who had her hands on her hips.

"What is the meaning of this?" She started "Jenny, I have told you _multiple_ times not to drive your bi-"

Officer Jenny cut her off. "This is a Pokémon emergency!"

Ash stood, getting the Joy's attention.

"It's true! Please help him!"

"That's a Pikachu..." She said, turning to her desk computer, typing something on it. "Chansey, I need a stretcher for a small electric Pokémon, stat!"

Ash began to jump out of the sidecar.

"Thank you so mu-" He started, before he landed hard on solid wood - on his left leg.

In retrospect, he should've known _not_ to do that with an injured leg.

There was a sharp crack, and Ash was on the ground, unable to do much besides not drop his illusion.

"Son of a _Mew_!" He cried from the ground, starting to hyperventilate from the effort it took not to pass out.

Nurse Joy turned back to the computer, her worried eyes on the boy.

"...and a Lucario sized stretcher, please."

Two Chansey hurried out, bringing the stretchers out, running up to Ash.

One took the Pikachu from him, before an arm reached out, gripping her arm tightly, forcing the Chansey to look at Ash.

 _"Don't hurt him."_ He hissed protectively in Pokéspeak, before pulling himself onto the stretcher fit for him; leaving the startled Chansey to care for Pikachu.

Nurse Joy turned to Officer Jenny. "Thank you for bringing them here, but I need you to leave with your bike. After all, who else is going to keep this city safe?"

The officer nodded and walked out the door, taking her bike with her and leaving Ash, Nurse Joy, and Chansey in the lobby.

After they had already started moving, Ash decided to speak.

"Nurse Joy." Ash said, grabbing the nurse's attention.

"I... I'm a Pokémon, and I need you to fix my leg and help Pikachu." Ash said hurriedly.

She didn't look convinced, so she crossed her arms and gave him a look that might as well of said: _"Do you think I'm stupid?"_

"Don't believe me? Fine."

Suddenly there was a bright flash, and when the light died away, there was a large fox-like Pokémon on the stretcher instead of the human boy.

This seemed to confuse Nurse Joy, who fumbled for words.

"W-what are you?"

"I'm a Zoroark, Dark-Type. 'The illusion fox Pokémon'" He quoted, becoming impatient, the pain egging him on. "Can you please help us? We are both in a ton of pain right now."

"Right, of course. Chansey, please get these two a room. We need to start immediately."

 _"Of course!"_ They chorused, turning them down a hall, with Nurse Joy in tow.

"So what's your name? Or is it just 'Zoroark'?" She asked.

"My name's Ash Ketchum, I'm from Pallet Town. I'm guessing you would like to know how we got these injuries?" He pulled off his pack, setting it down next to him.

Joy nodded her head. "That would be preferable, yes."

Ash cringed at the pain he was experiencing, but spoke anyway.

"It was from... a flock of Spearow. I made one angry and it called for help."

The other Chansey started to help with pulling the stretcher he was on.

There was a sharp intake of breath as he continued, grimacing.

"We ran then. After a while, I had to pick Pikachu up, then jump off a waterfall! Afterwards, I had to borrow a bike... heh."

Ash neglected to mention it was destroyed.

"Just after the storm hit, I swerved in the mud, sending us flying. I landed funny on my leg, as you can see, but the flock gave up after Pikachu gave them the shock of their life."

The Zoroark grimaced slightly, "Literally."

Nurse Joy almost shuddered at that last comment, but tried to ignore it. Instead, she asked another question: "Who is your Trainer? And the Pikachu's?"

"My mother is in possession of my Pokéball, but I'm Pikachu's Trainer. I got him only yesterday." He replied honestly.

"B-but, you're a Pokémon..." she stuttered, incredulous. "Is your mother a Pokémon too?"

Ash shook his head. "No. She's human."

Nurse Joy looked surprised.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" She asked.

"Because I know I can trust someone like you with this secret. To not tell anyone. Right now, however; I just ask that you make Pikachu your priority."

"You probably have a broken leg! Helping him will be a simple process compared to what condition you're in!"

"But I insist tha-" Ash began, before Nurse Joy cut him off.

"No!" She cut off sharply. "I insist that we deal with you first!"

The Zoroark was no longer in a position argue as the pain from his leg made him pass out on the stretcher, prompting Nurse Joy and Chansey walk faster.

_

Ash woke for the second time that day, a few hours after he passed out.

When he cracked open an eye, he caught a glimpse of where he was, before closing it again: He was in some kind of... empty operating room.

"I really hope this doesn't become a thing." He muttered.

The Zoroark used his tired arms to push himself into a sitting position on his bed, before opening his eyes again, wincing at how bright it was for how late it was supposed to be.

The sheets, bed, pillow, just about everything in the room was white, so seeing the sharp contrast of his fur color was kind of unsettling.

Ash's eyes widened as he remembered: Pikachu and his belongings. He checked around the room and next to his bed for his stuff, before he started to move to look around.

He instantly regretted the decision when a sharp stab of pain ran down his leg, making him bare his teeth and hiss in pain.

He tried bending his leg, but Ash felt a slight resistance as he did. Looking under the sheets, he saw a white cast down his entire left leg, along with a brace attached to the cast to allow him to walk.

How bad was it? The Pokémon asked himself, poking the cast.

The deathly silence of the room was starting to go to his head, so, he did the only sensible thing a Pokémon who wanted nothing more than to be adventuring right now did: he stood.

Or tried to.

When he finally got both feet on the ground, he stumbled forwards, trying to use just about anything that could hold him up as a crutch, whining with every step he took.

Then Ash remembered something else: his ability!

He focused his mind on Pikachu; the way he looked, the way he felt in his arms running from the flock, and there was a flash.

When the light receded, in his place stood a Pikachu.

"Yes!" He cheered, awkwardly jumping at the door handle, managing to use his shifted weight to click it open.

The little Pikachu ran towards where he thought his starter was, only to find he was back in the seemingly empty main lobby.

He was completely unaware of the presence of the two humans and one Pokémon, watching from one of the windows.

He flashed back to human form and reached the video phones, sitting down hard. He glanced down, feeling a similar pressure on his leg, and discovered his cast was still on him.

"Sometimes, not even I will understand how that works..." He muttered. "Just as long as I don't move it, I can stay looking like this."

He glanced back towards the door, then back to the video phones, and made a decision.

Ash picked up the phone, and started dialing, just before hearing footsteps coming up behind him.

_

Nearby, back in the Town of Pallet, Delia Ketchum heard the absurd ringtone of the home video phone.

Walking up to it, she pressed the 'answer call' button, saying, "Hello, this is-"

A Nurse Joy seemed to have exploded on the other end of the line. "What do you think you're doing, young man! I left you in the room for your own good! You could have made your leg worse!"

"Nurse Joy, please! I just wanted to call my mother!" A familiar voice pleaded.

"Ash?!" Delia yelled, concerned for her son.

He spun around, letting Delia see his relieved face as he let out a sigh.

Her mood changed in a heartbeat.

"Hi honey! Are you and Pikachu doing okay? Where are you, Ash?"

He looked uncertain. "I'm... at a Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Although... the Nurse Joy here knows about my secret now." He blurted, covering his face with a hand.

"What?! Ash Ketchum, why does she know?"

Nurse Joy answered for him.

"He broke his leg coming here." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Actually, he broke his leg in here." She corrected. "I tried patching him up, but he wouldn't stop moving!"

"That's Ash for you." Delia crossed her arms, now addressing her son. "But that still doesn't explain why you told her."

"She would've figured it out anyway!" He defended himself. "Me and Pikachu both passed out either here or on our way here."

He took a deep breath, continuing. "But hey!" He flashed back to his original form, making Delia gasp. "I evolved! Specifically, to save Pikachu!"

"Oh, Ash! Congratulations! I knew you would! I bet staying as a Zorua was pretty boring, for as long as you did! But what happened to you two, for you to have to save him?"

Ash looked down. "We uh, were attacked by a flock of Spearow. We had to run for almost the entire day, but even then, we barely survived..." He looked back up, a tear running down his cheek. "I don't think I'm cut out for being a Pokémon Trainer. I couldn't even defend Pikachu, he risked his life for mine. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"Ash Ketchum! I won't let you talk yourself down or out of your dream! Always remember this: You're destined for great things. There will always be doubt, but that's what you need to push through and become the greatest - like no one ever was! I mean that."

By this point, Ash had no reason to keep looking like what he wasn't. The Zoroark's eyes were brimming with tears, and he smiled.

"Thanks, mom. I really needed that. I love you, good night."

"I love you too, Ash. Go out there and become the greatest."

"I will, mom. I promise."

"Oh, and remember to keep brushing your fur-" She reminded him, before getting cut off by an embarrassed Ash.

"Yep!"

With that, Ash hung up the phone, leaning back in the chair, flashing back his human form.

When he turned around and stood, Ash noticed something he hadn't when he first came in.

It was a mural of four Pokémon: three of them seemed to be flying types, while the fourth was a dog-like Pokémon.

He walked carefully over to it, before asking, "Nurse Joy, what are those Pokémon?"

She duly responded and pointed to each. "That's the legendary trio: Lugia, Zapdos, and Ho-Oh."

 _'Ho-Oh... So that's what I saw...'_ The boy thought.

"What about that one?" He asked, pointing to the dog-like one.

"That one? Oh, that's just Arcanine." She answered nonchalantly. "I have no idea why they put that Pokémon on it. They're not _too_ rare, but they definitly should not classify as legendary Pokémon, despite the Pokédex entry." Joy said, walking back through the double doors.

_

Somewhere else in Pallet Town, an old Pokémon Professor sat in his lab chair, eating the anchovy and pineapple pizza he had ordered not too long ago.

The lab was quiet during the evening, with no experiments to get done or when he wasn't doing any research. He ate, with his feet propped up on top of his desk, not really wanting to do anything right now.

Professor Oak suddenly stopped chewing. Something felt off, like he forgot to do something today. After a moment's hesitation, the old man just shrugged and continued eating.

He'd figure it out tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**_HOLY FUUUUUUUUCK! THEY'RE MAKING ANOTHER FUCKING ORI GAME!!!!!!!!!!_** ** _I CANNOT CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT RIGHT NOW, AS I AM LITERALLY SHAKING!!!_** ** _SAY HELLO TO THE SOON TO BE_** Ori and The Will of the Wisps ** _ANNOINCED AT E3 2017!!!!!!!!!!_**

I can't stop shaking now.

Also, here's Chapter 5.

_

Ash stood there, staring at the mural.

"You!" Came a hauntingly familiar voice, making Ash grimace and turn around.

The first thing he recognized was what left of the blackened, twisted metal of the girl's bike, who was currently breathing heavily, like she ran for miles.

"Hi?" He offered weakly, putting up his hands in defense.

In exchange for that, the girl approached him menacingly, with seemingly growing anger.

He was starting to wonder if she was gong to throw her bike at him.

"Listen here, you... _thing_." She spat, venom dripping with every word. "Look what you did to my bike!" She yelled, gesturing wildly to the twisted heap of metal.

The boy winced.

"Oh... right. Sorry about that, but it was a necessary sacrifice!" He tried to reason. "Think about this: If you hadn't let me use your bike, then me and my Pokémon - which of whom is still in the ER - would've been pecked to death by a bunch of Spearow. I hate being 'this guy', but even you know that we would've died."

He took a small step back.

"So... we technically kind of owe you." Ash finished.

The girl stood a little bit straighter. He was right. She saw the crater that was surrounded by toasted Spearow. Without her bike, they really would have died... and it would've been her fault.

Then her face hardened.

"You still have to pay for what you did! My bike wasn't exactly cheap, you know!"

"Listen, I'll make up for it. I will. But I can't do anything until-"

"Ooh, I don't want any of your lame excuses, kid! I just want a new bike right now!" The orange haired girl screamed at him, stamping a foot on the ground.

"If you would just give me time-"

A ding sounded behind him, cutting off the rest of their conversation..

He gasped "Pikachu!" and ran up to them, with Misty in tow.

"Your Pikachu is just resting. It's lucky you got him here so fast. The procedure went well, and he should be fine!" Joy said happily.

Ash placed a hand onto Pikachu, looking at Nurse Joy.

"Thank you so much for saving him!"

"All he needs now is a good rest in the recovery room. You should go on there too, Ash." Joy finished sincerely.

"I hope that'll keep you still for more than five minutes." She then added humorously.

Ash let out a breath, smiling regardless. "Thank you, Nurse Joy."

He then turned to Misty. "I'm really sorry about your bike, but I'm going to need time to make things right."

Misty looked like she was about to tell him off again, but subsided. "Okay. But I'm going to follow you until you make up for my bike."

She paused, then held out a hand.

"My name's Misty by the way. If I'm going to be traveling with you, we might as well get to know each other."

Ash nodded, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it. "Okay. That's fair. My name's Ash Ketchum."

He was about to continue, before a siren wailed.

_

"Hey, look! Ya can see all da way across Varidian City!" Meowth exclaimed, jumping onto the rim of the basket they all stood in, just above the City's Pokémon Center.

"Focus, Meowth! Did you not see that person change into those Pokémon?" Jessie said, seeing the raven haired 'person' talking to an orange haired girl.

The Pokémon looked back lazily.

"Av course I did. But what'll be different about 'dis time? Our other raids have gone off widout a hitch."

"Quit your bickering!" Hissed the blue haired man, James, which grabbed their attention.

"The Joy here's wheeling a Pikachu out! We'll be able to grab the boy - Pokémon - thing, and that Pikachu!" He pointed out.

Jessie brightened. "You're right! But how are we going to get the boy?" She looked closer. "From the look of that cast, he has a broken leg, which means we can exploit that and taunt him with that Pikachu, so he'll be more inclined to come with us!"

She looked to Meowth.

"Are the detonators ready, Meowth? They won't destroy our Pokéballs, right?"

"Ya know it!" Came the reply.

"Everyone know their part?" She assured.

The "Yes" that came from the other two seemed to be an exasperated one - like Jessie asked _every_ time they planned a Pokémon heist.

"These people won't know what hit them!" James said, itching to get started.

"Don't get your uniform in a-" Jessie started, before an alarm cut her off.

"Your attention please!" The announcement began, "Our Viridian City radar system has detected an aircraft belonging to a gang of Pokémon thieves!"

"What a pretty picture they're painting for us." James muttered sarcastically, before Jessie hit him over the head.

"Quiet!" She hissed.

"If you have a Pokémon in your possession," Officer Jenny's voice continued, "exercise extreme caution!"

Jessie frowned.

"Hmph. Guess we woke up this sleepy dump."

"How dare they act like we're criminals!" James scowled. "They should be welcoming Team Rocket with open arms!"

"We'll teach them to respect that name!" She responded.

"Meeoowth!" Came a shout by their feet. "And when we snatch all t'eir Pokémon, d'ose scared little mice will know I'm da top cat!"

Jessie and James responded, equally annoyed, "We get it, Meowth! We get it!"

With a quick movement, they each plucked a Pokéball from their belt, and tossed them off the side of the basket.

_

Ash looked to Nurse Joy.

"Excuse me? Where did you leave my stuff when you brought me into that room?"

She took a quick look around in slight paranoia, but answered anyways.

"I left it behind the front desk. Just in ca-"

The sound of shattering glass came from the center of the room, followed by an explosion of smoke; which sent the two people and Pokémon reeling and diving for cover. Ash grabbed ahold of Pikachu and dived underneath the closest desk.

 _"Here we are!"_ Exclaimed one Pokémon.

 _"That'sss right!"_ Said an obvious snake Pokémon, shaking it's tail, producing a rattling noise.

The Pokémon, Ash saw, was a Koffing, which flew around the room, spitting out a Smokescreen from its many holes. The other one appeared to be an Ekans.

 _"What's wrong?"_ The Poison Gas Pokémon laughed. _"Can't see too well anymore?"_

"Who are these people, Nurse Joy?!" Ash yelled, coughing.

New voices drifted through the room.

"Don't be frightened, little boy."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves."

The smoke cleared in an area around the unwelcome visitors, revealing a blue haired man and purple haired woman.

"To protect the world from devastation!" She began.

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" He continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

They each struck a pose.

"Jessie!" Exclaimed the purple haired woman.

"James!" Followed the blue haired man.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie continued.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James said.

Then a Meowth dropped down next to them.

"Meeoowth!" It exclaimed, spinning in place. "That's right!"

Pushing the fact that he was amazed that there was another human speaking Pokémon, Ash managed to ask: "W-what are you talking about?"

Jessie looked at her comrade. "He just doesn't get it, huh?"

James eyed Ash suspiciously.

"I'm sure _it_ does, but to sum it up, we're here for the Pokémon."

Ash moved, wrapping his arms around his starter.

"You're not getting Pikachu!" He yelled at them.

Something evil twinkled in Jessie's eye when she grinned. "Well, that _was_ the plan, but I realized: something even _more_ rare is standing in front of us. Something not even we know what it is."

This earned a slight gasp from him.

 _'Do they know? Is my illusion even worth keeping up if everyone knows?'_ The boy thought, taking a step back.

Ash suddenly turned, pushing the stretcher that held Pikachu, inciting the others to follow him as well.

They turned a corner, and Nurse Joy stopped and quickly pulled the other two into a side room.

She shut and locked the door, just before Team Rocket's Pokémon went past.

They all let out a breath, but they knew that they'll be found at some point.

Nurse Joy turned around, walking by the two kids.

"We need to get these Pokéballs to Pewter." She said.

Ash and Misty turned around, seeing a wall of Pokéballs and several machines.

The lights flickered for a moment, before going out.

"Perfect." Misty muttered sarcastically, trying to feel her way through the room.

Ash looked confused.

"What?"

Misty went to slap him in the back of the head, but missed, so she resolved to telling him: "The power is out, you idiot! Can you not see?"

"If the power is out, then I can see very well, thank you very much." Ash retorted.

There was a _hmm_ from Nurse Joy.

"I think that's because you're a Dark-Type." She explained, before changing the subject. "But it's okay! We have our own power source, Pika-power!"

There was a small spark of electricity, coming from the room adjacent to them, with a window allowing the two humans and Ash to catch sight of a treadmill-like device with a group of Pikachu running on it.

After a few moments, the lights turned back on, allowing Misty and Nurse Joy to see properly again, while Ash was gushing over the machine.

"Wow!" He exclaimed. "Science is so amazing!"

Seeing these Pikachu produce electricity gave him an idea. _'Since Pikachu were Electric type, would electricity help him recover?'_

During that, Nurse Joy moved towards one of the machines; however, this one had a monitor which flashed to life.

"This is Pewter City Pokémon Center, emergency transfer system activated." A voice said from the device.

Joy turned to the other two.

"I need you two load as many Pokéballs as you can onto the transporter."

Ash turned away from the window and nodded, turning towards the shelf to grab an armfull, Misty doing the same.

_

"James, have you finished going through that stupid booklet?" Jessie asked her partner impatiently.

"What do you _think_?" James retorted. "I have over a hundred Pokémon to go through. Unless he's from another region, otherwise, he could be the Phantom Pokémon."

"But dat's a too big a risk ta take for da boss!" Meowth interjected. "We can't base anything off dat he's Mew!"

"The only thing his possibly original form reminds me of, is Lucario." James exclaimed, flipping to the page on the Fighting/Steel Type. "But I've never seen, or heard of a dark-furred Lucario with red hair!"

Jessie sighed. They were all getting worked up because of a Pokémon they knew nothing about. Sure, there were ones that nobody has ever even _seen_ , but there was also the possibility that that boy was from another region and they simply had no knowledge about him.

"We'll take it up with the specialists at H.Q." Jessie reasoned. "For now, let's just make sure we get something out of this raid."

James put the book down with a sigh. She was right.

"Alright!" He said, walking down the hall with Jessie. "Where do you think they could be?"

Koffing and Ekans met with their handlers at a closed door, and Koffing said something.

"Meowth!" Jessie called.

The cat in question appeared next to them, already knowing what to do.

"He said: "Dis is da only room we haven't checked yet... mainly because we don't have hands.""

Jessie nodded. "Hmph. Fair enough."

She looked at Koffing and pointed at the door.

"You know what to do."

_

"Come on, come on." Nurse Joy said, watching as the machine transported each Pokéball in a flash of light.

"How long does this usually take?" Ash asked, throwing a glance at the door.

She huffed. "I only went through this once before: when Team Rocket last attacked. Quite a few Pokémon were lost, which is why they installed a radar system."

The last few Pokéballs were getting ready for transport, when the door burst open, smoke bellowing into the room, followed by several crashing noises, and a Pokémon calling out _"Surprise!"_.

The smoke cleared almost as fast as it came, revealing Jessie, James, Meowth, and Ekans, with Koffing floating back towards them.

Ash glanced around for any forgotten Pokéballs, before turning to Misty, who was already taking a Pokéball from her belt.

"Take Pikachu and get out of here." The tomboy-ish girl stated confidently. "I'll handle these clowns."

Ash didn't need to be told twice.

That made Jessie laugh.

"You think you can take us, little lady?"

"I agree, she should put her money where her mouth is." James added.

Ash thought he could hear the steam coming from Misty's ears the moment he ran through the door.

"I'll show you!" She fumed, and tossed a Pokéball to the ground.

After the initial white flash, the Pokémon she sent out was revealed to be...

A Goldeen.

The akward silence that followed almost hurt, with James and Jessie cringing at just how _bad_ it was.

The Goldeen continued to flop around on the ground helplessly.

After Misty seemingly realized her mistake, she returned the fish Pokémon.

Jessie sounded almost disappointed when she spoke. "That's the best you can do?"

James leaned forward, shaking his head.

"I'm actually going to feel bad if the rest of your Pokémon are like that... y'know, all washed up."

Misty still somehow felt confident.

"We both know that most water Pokémon can't battle on land!" Misty pulled out another Pokéball. "I was just warming up!"


	6. Chapter 6

**I thank all of those who helped this story catch heat as fast as it did!**

 **It means a lot, because I really didn't think I could write a passable Pokémon fanfic.**

 **Enough modesty! Back to the story!**

 **By the way, I know James commanded Koffing, but I figured since Jessie is kind of like the unofficial 'leader' of the trio, she should be able to give a few commands every now and then.**

_

The worst part about running, Ash believed, is that you are generally running away from a battle. Sure, Ash wanted to keep Pikachu safe any way he could, but he'd always wanted to get in a Pokémon battle.

He'd seen wild Pokémon fight, but even after a while, some of the battles he'd watched turned into friendly spars. The looks on the wild Pokémon's faces when that happened, made it seem battling was the best thing in the world.

His mom always forbade him from getting into fights, explaining that he'd get seriously injured and pointing out that he'd never practiced any of his moves.

He growled to himself. Of course he didn't practice his moves. He didn't even _know_ his own freaking moveset! Ash knew he couldn't blame Delia. His mother was lucky enough to get a Pokédex entry and typing for him from Professor Oak!

Finally reaching the main lobby again, the young boy glanced around before he took a look at Pikachu. With the Pokémon looking slightly better than he did when they got here, he tore his gaze away. Ash's eyes drifted along the wall until he spotted what he was looking for - a glass pane that sat in the building, almost like a one-way mirror.

It was a long shot, but the way the building was laid out, Ash knew he had to take the risk. Running over to the pane, he threw himself at it, shoulder first. The section of glass erupted into a web of cracks, and the boy backed up, prepping himself again.

Right now, destruction of private property was his least concern, because the other Pikachu were essential to his plan.

_

"Jessie, where'd the boy go?" James whispered to his partner, looking any other way he could've gotten out.

"One second!" She hissed. The Staryu that Misty had sent out had given Jessie a much harder time than that Goldeen ever would've.

"We need to capture him! This was the point of our raid."

Jessie growled out a command to Ekans, before whirling on James. "The _point_ of this raid, James, was to capture Pokémon!" Jessie turned her head back around. "Ekans, Toxic!"

The snake complied, spitting a glob of purple liquid at Misty's Staryu, who didn't have enough time to dodge. The gem in its core flashed purple, indicating it was poisoned, making Jessie smirk.

She did agree with her blue haired compatriot, however. Capturing a new Pokémon mighty even make the boss want to give them a raise...

"Take Koffing and Meowth and go find the boy, this girl is easy enough." Jessie relented.

James nodded, moving towards the door. "Okay! Meowth, Koffing, let's go!"

Running down the hall, Meowth spoke.

"How are we even goin to catch dis one? Do ya 'ave any of da capture cubes?"

James quickly padded himself down, before pulling a special cube from his pocket. "Here it is!" He exclaimed happily.

It looked to be made out of metal, with openings on two opposite sides, as well as some sort of energy containment unit inside of it.

Reaching the lobby, the three were met with a sight that made them freeze in their tracks.

There were twelve Pikachu sitting on the stretcher of the boy's injured Pikachu, keeping a constant stream of electricity between them all. The boy was standing a little back from them, making sure as to not get shocked.

"Whad on Earth are ya doin'?" Meowth said looking to James. "Trow da capture cube!"

Too late, as the boy and all the Pikachu turned to them just as James raised his arm.

One specific Pikachu moved, looking a lot better than it was a few hours ago, said something, making Meowth smirk and the boy run over to it.

_

"Pikachu, are you feeling airtight?" Ash asked, concerned for him.

The Electric Mouse Pokémon shifted. _"Squirtle...?"_ He groaned, turning his body slightly, grimacing at the pain. _"Did Bulbasaur drop me off the roof again? I swear he has it out for me..."_

Ash prodded him lightly trying to wake him up. "Pikachu?" He added quietly, unsure of his current state.

 _"Stop that, Charmander... I just had the weirdest_ _dream. Professor Oak gave me..."_ The groggy Pikachu opened his eyes and stared before reality hit him. _"...to a Pokémon... Oh dear Arceus it was real."_

Ash smiled sympathetically. "Yep, and right now" He glanced behind his back. "we have some unwelcome company."

Standing up, Ash turned towards James, Meowth and Koffing.

"You shouldn't be here!" Ash began. "Stealing other people's Pokémon... you should be ashamed!"

Meowth shrugged. "Eh... but we're not, and you're on our list."

The Scratch Cat Pokémon jumped and swiped the device out of James' hand. Landing, the cat spun and threw the cube at Ash. Without any time to react, the cube's energy field disrupted, and expanded into the form of a collar around the poor Zoroark's neck, releasing streams of electricity directly into him.

James quickly took a pad and pen out of his pocket before he started writing something down.

"What is this?!" Ash fell to his knees, clawing at the device, his form shimmering before finally failing.

 _"Ash!"_ Pikachu exclaimed. Turning to Meowth, he sparked his cheeks angrily. _"What is that? Why is it doing that to my trainer?!"_

"Why do you care?" He responded, walking up to Ash and kicking him in his side, making Dark-Type grunt and fall to the floor. Conscious but twitching, Ash glared Meowth. "And ya said 'trainer', eh? I didn't know Pokémon could become trainers 'dese days. In any case, you're a free mon now! Go an enjoy dat... or become a part of Team Rocket. Your choice, really."

That stopped Pikachu cold. Ever since that old guy - Professor Oak is what many people called him - caught him chewing on a bunch of wires outside of his lab, Oak kept him in that cursed sphere for hours at a timetime. It was torment.

It was barely a year later when Ash came to the lab. Everything changed then. Pikachu went from a hateful little mon to someone who was grateful for what and who they have in a night. For the first time in years, he was _grateful_ to someone who didn't spend time with him because he had to. Ash - Pokémon or not - was still with Pikachu because he wanted to.

Ash almost lost his life... because he wanted to protect Pikachu.

The electric aura around Pikachu tripled in power before he spoke. _"Get away from my friend!"_ He yelled, unleashing the stored electricity into the surprised Meowth. A stream of electricity lashed out at the cat like a whip, delivering a sharp _crackle-pop_ with it.

Launching the Normal-Type into Koffing was enough to get James' attention away from his pad. With a noise of surprise, James realized that he was a _very_ angry Pikachu's next target.

"Eep!" Ducking under a stream of moving electricity, James ran for cover, instead getting lashed acrossed his back by a different stream of electricity.

_

One of the eleven pikachu looked to the others. _"I've never seen a pokémon this angry before."_

A second pikachu snorted. _"I have. My dad was caught by a trainer when I was younger. My memma was_ not _happy. Made the kid wiz himself before dropping the Pokéball that my dad was in. Never saw the trainer again."_

Another pikachu spoke up, catching their attention. _"Guys?"_ The same pikachu motioned toward the twitching mess of black and red fur on the ground with his tail. _"Maybe we should help him._ "

_

"Staryu, return!"

Taking on this darn snake was annoying as it is, but with constant taunting from Jessie made Misty want to strangle the Rocket member.

"Looks like you're out of usable Pokémon!" Jessie sneered.

"Ha!" Misty plucked the other Pokéball from her belt. "That's where _you_ are wrong!" Tossing the sphere, Goldeen was released back on the ground. "Horn Attack!"

Flopping around for a second, Goldeen managed to charge her attack and throw herself at Ekans. Not expecting Goldeen to even move, let alone _attack_ , the snake was hit in his face before he slumped to the ground, exhausted.

Panicking, Jessie returned Ekans and turned to bolt out of the door, only to run straight into an Officer Jenny standing there.

With a quick movement, Jenny cuffed Jessie and walked silently out of the room.

Misty followed them back to the lobby, seeing twelve Pikachu around a disoriented Ash.

Misty looked around and grimaced at the obvious chaos: the broken glass, exposed ceiling vents and burn marks along the floor and walls. "What happened here?"

"I got electrified, Pikachu got mad, Meowth is definitely unconscious, and James probably has lash marks across his back now." Ash looked at a specific Pikachu. "Did I miss anything?" "Pika pika chu!" "Right! Me and Pikachu are finally on better terms-" "Chu!" "- friends, now."

Misty figured that was good, but she didn't know why they weren't on good terms in the first place. Deciding not to dwell on it, she turned her attention to the three Officer Jennys walking the Rocket members to the police car.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned back to Ash.

"Ready to get moving?"

"You know it! Just... er... let me grab my stuff first."

Misty snorted. Maybe this wasn't going to be torture after all.

_

"Report."

The silhouetted figure on the screen was the man no one wanted to annoy.

"Sir" Jessie began steadily. "We failed to capture any Pokémon, but-"

"You failed your mission." The figure shifted in his seat, the form of a Persian moving as well. "If you cannot capture any Pokémon within the next _week_ , you will be removed of your status and forced to work under Butch and Cassidy until told otherwise."

Meowth spoke quietly. "Er... Boss? We believe to have discavered a really rare Pokémon..."

After a minute of silence, the figure spoke again, more annoyed. "Well? Are you going to tell me?"

"Yes sir." James said, pulling out his pad. "I made a sketch of it, and we think it's from another region. We don't know the name of it, as we'd need access to our other regional databases."

The silhouette listened and answered. "You will not have access to the databases, but I will assign to you one of our top researchers. He's from the Unova region. Get to know him. Rocket 1-1 out."

With that, the transmission cut off and a door slid open to the trio's side. A man in a lab coat walked out and stood at the table, and smirked.

"Hello. My name is Colress. It seems we are going to be working together."


	7. Chapter 7

**Welcome back**

 **As you guys know, Colress made an entrance at the end of the last chapter, and I know that some of you might not like that he's under the employment of Team Rocket as of now.**

 **Trust me when I say that I have a plan for him many of you will like (I wanted a twist in the plot to make this more interesting).**

 **I realize that the last few chapters have been a literal emotional rollercoaster, and I apologize. I'll be working on that.**

 **I'll also be working on getting these chapters out sooner. Sadly school is upon me, but I love writing this!**

 **Conflicting feelings are annoying.**

 **Anyway! Hope you understand what I am doing and I hope you read the A/N. To the story!**

_

Misty took back what she said.

It was great Ash and his Pikachu were getting along now (from what she gathered about their situation a few days ago), but she couldn't understand a _single_ word of their conversation.

It was bad enough they were currently walking through Viridian Forest, barely four hours after entering the great expanse of nature, much to the chagrin of the Nurse Joy back in Viridian.

 _'Twelve and a half and_ still _afraid of Bugs.'_ She thought angrily, while also flinching away from a twitching bush. _'And my sisters never left me alone about it either.'_

She had to get her mind off Bugs...

"Ash!" Misty said, managing to pull him out of his current conversion with Pikachu. "You said you're a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Yeah?" He answered innocently. "I was just talking to Pikachu an-"

"Well, Pokémon Trainers look for and catch Pokémon, and you don't seem to be doing either."

Pikachu whispered something to Ash and he sighed. "Alright, but we've gotta go a different path."

Misty looked around. "But... there's only one path..."

Ash laughed, taking a confident step into the brush. "You have to make your own!" He was quiet for a moment. "Also, this is the way me and my mom used to take. C'mon."

The first word to pop into Misty's mind was _'why.'_

Her step was not as confident as Ash's, but she followed him anyways.

"It's like my mom always said," Ash explained, as if he was the woman's son by birth. "'If you can't find what you're looking for, you're looking in the wrong spot!'" This earned a small chuckle out of his electric partner, while his other companion nervously looked around them, cringing at every sound.

"You sure seem to look up to her." Misty said, not really meaning to make it sound the way it did, but just looking for a distraction.

Ash replied cheerily anyway, the crunch of leaves and sticks under their feet starting to drain from Misty's ears. "Of course I do. She was the only person I even talked to that much. Professor Oak was usually too busy with his... er... ex-peri-ments." He paused, his eyes flicking to his backpack, thinking about that dictionary his mom packed for him. "I think I said that right."

"What about friends? I'm sure even you could've found any at all."

Ash turned to look at a twitching bush. When it stopped, he ignored it and kept walking. "Not really... There was this one person I had accidentally met. His name was Gary, and all he did was tease me for being a mute and a momma's boy. I never liked him..."

Pikachu gave a consoling pat with his tail and Misty snorted. "I can see why. He seems like a jerk."

Ash smiled. "Heh. Yeah he is."

_

Twisting around another tree, Ash was starting to feel unsure. Even his constant assurances to Misty did nothing to quell his own doubt.

"Are you sure you know where we are going?" Misty asked again. "There are plenty of signs that say we should stick to the path."

"If I wasn't sure, why would I even bring us this way?" He tried to reason. _'Unless of course, this is the path to...'_ Ash glanced around. _'No, I think we're good.'_

A girly scream stopped him and made him turn around. When he did, Misty was about twenty feet back, shaking in her boots and looking at him from behind a tree.

"What's wrong?" He asked, taking a step towards her. She took four more steps back. "Y-your pack..." she stuttered. "There's a... a..."

Even more confused than before, Ash brought his open pack around on his arm. Almost immediately he noticed a Weedle just _sitting_ there.

He looked up to Misty, who seemed to be _farther_ away. "A Weedle?" Ash asked as Pikachu started conversing with the Bug-type.

Misty couldn't help herself. Her unrational fear of Bugs caused her to slide further down the trunk of the tree, as if the Weedle was a bomb about to go off.

Ash sighed patiently. "What's _so_ bad about a little Weedle?"

No response. A quiet whimper.

Ash pieced it together. "Misty..." A fear of Bugs.

"It's fine, Misty, it won't hurt-" "A Weedle means we're close to its nest, Ash." Misty cut in quietly. "And you don't want to make thirty Beedrill angry unless you want to be stabbed to death and used as food."

'Morbid' Ash thought, frowning slightly. He knew what he could do, but he just wanted that whole day to be nothing more than a bad dream. It wasn't pleasant remembering it, even less so refreshing his mind of the horrible series of events.

All the hoping in the world couldn't rid that night from his mind. "Three days ago, Pikachu and I were chased down by a hundred Spearow. All because I threw a pebble at one. That was when Pikachu hated me, when he didn't know what I was so he ignored everything I said." Ash sat cross legged on the ground, scraping at the ground with a finger.

"Right after that I evolved to save my... _very_ disloyal partner." He chuckled quietly, a sad smile coming to his face. "That's when you fished me up and I stole your bike. That night I was ready to die for Pikachu. I almost did. But he didn't let me. I'm sure Pikachu has plans for me to suffer a _while_ longer before he finally lets go." Ash laughed to himself. "Before we let go of each other."

Ash didn't notice Misty moving from behind the tree. She had moved over and sat next to him. When she put a hand on his shoulder, Ash seemed to wake up from his stupor.

Standing, he took a deep breath. "My point is, Misty, I was almost killed by Flying types and I'm not going to completely avoid them for the rest of my life."

Leaving Misty to think about that, Ash looked into his pack at the Weedle. "Where is your nest? I'm taking you back."

_

 _"I'm not so sure about this, Ash."_ Pikachu voiced from his Trainer's shoulder, trying not to wince from the constant buzzing of Beedrill flying about nearby. "Relax, you." Ash said. "All we're doing is leaving the little guy at the edge of the brush and leaving."

 _"That's going to be a little tough for you."_ Their new companion stated. _"I'm not going anywhere."_

Ash frowned. He didn't see this coming, but he guessed he should've. It's not like there are many... eh... Trainers that could understand Pokémon without a Psychic type for translations between. Thankfully, Ash fell under that category.

It also helped that he was a Pokémon.

"Then what are you gonna do?"

The Weedle crawled back into his pack. _"I'm going to stay_ right _here. Nothing you can do will move me."_ He stated confidently.

Ash lifted him up.

 _"Except that."_ Weedle pouted.

"So... would you like to travel with us?" Ash asked, straightforward, setting the Bug-type on his shoulder.

 _"Yes."_ He said slowly. _"But I'm going to bail if you throw me against something like_ _... I don't know, a really powerful Fire type."_

Pikachu laughed, shifting around in Ash's pack before pulling out a Pokéball. _"Why don't you try a flock of Spearow? From personal experience, though, you may need to learn a Super-effective move first."_ Weedle gave Pikachu an incredulous look, before tapping the Pokéball's center button with his small horn.

The Pokéball shook for a second, then gave a small _pop_ noise as it indicated the catch. Handing the sphere to Ash, Pikachu took his place back on the boy's shoulder.

 _"So, are you ready to get this show on the road?"_ Pikachu asked as Ash released Weedle back into his pack, letting him get comfortable.

"You know it, buddy. Let's go get Misty." Ash responded.

_

As it turned out, Misty wasn't particularly as fond of having a Bug Type as a Pokémon as Ash was.

The first hint he got was when Misty visibly flinched at the mere sight of Spike - the Weedle's name - and almost ran off behind a tree again. Luckily Misty gave Ash enough time to explain to her what happened by the nest.

Now, back on their way to Pewter to visit and challenge Brock, Ash consulted the map with the help of his companions.

"So, we took the shortcut... here." Ash said, dragging a finger across where he estimated the path they took went. "So, that means we should be arriving to Pewter some time tomorrow..." Glancing up at the yellowing sky, he threw out a rough estimate. "probably in the afternoon."

Suddenly interested, Misty took position next to Ash, but kept her distance from Spike, and spoke. "Really? Normally takes me at least a few days to get through Viridian Forest." She looked at Ash suddenly. "Where'd you learn to read a map?"

Replying with the same answer he always did, Ash answered, "My mom believed it to be under the 'necessary skills' category while growing up."

 _"Just how much did that woman teach you, exactly?"_ Pikachu butted in.

"Enough to keep me alive out here in the real world... almost." He replied lightheartedly.

 _"It seems to me that you know what you're doing."_ Spike threw in as well, shifting slightly. _"And I'm totally fine with that."_

"Thanks guys, but all the credit should go to my mom. She was the one to teach me all of this." Ash snorted. "Imagine what would've happened if I couldn't read a map. I'd probably manage to get us lost in a mountain range! Or a desert!"

Their good time was interrupted by a large blade being lifted to Ash's face. Freezing, Ash was afraid he'd get sliced open if he angered the one wielding the blade.

With a speed that even suprised his Trainer, Pikachu sent the person to the ground with a quick Thunder Wave, using the sword as a wire to avoid paralyzing Ash.

With many a clashes of metal, the person hit the ground with a muffled "Ow." The blade, which appeared to be a small claymore, went down with its owner. The owner, which looked like was dressed in a knight's mail, with the full helmet to go with it, looked to be about the same size of Ash, maybe a bit taller.

Stuffing the map back in his pack, Ash moved the person on to his back with a foot.

"Hello?" Misty asked, glaring, Ash sharing her look. "Are you going to explain why you shoved a sword in our faces?"

"I... simply wished to battle... As noble knight like myself... I have been battling all of the Trainers from the Town of Pallet. My... name is Sir John of Viridian. I... mean no harm to you." The kid explained. "Now... Can you get the Cheri Berry that I left with my stuff behind that tree?"

Having helped the knight get rid of his paralysis and accepting his challenge, both boys stood on opposite ends of a clear field, ready to toss out their first choices, with Misty standing a bit ways away from them both.

"Are you ready, squire?" John taunted through his helmet.

Turning his hat around on his head, Ash grinned. "More than you know it."

With a fluid movement, John threw a Pokéball. "Pinsir, prepare for battle!"

The ball broke open and a blue beam burst from it, revealing the form of John's first Pokémon. It stretched and clicked both of its mandibles, causing Misty to _eep_ and step back a little more.

 _"Ready!_ It shouted, taking stance.

Throwing out his arm, he said, "Go, Pikachu!"

The little mouse Pokémon happily ran the length of his arm and jumped, landing flawlessly on all fours in front of him.

 _"Ready!"_ Pikachu called back to him.

"Begin!" Misty called from her position.

"Let's start this off with Vice Grip, Pinsir!" John commanded.

Unable to dodge the move due to the sheer speed of the attack, Pikachu was lifted in the grasp of Pinsir's large mandibles. Wincing, Pikachu tried squirming to break its hold on him, only causing more damage.

"Quick Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Ash called out in worry.

His starter's red cheeks sparked, and Pinsir howled in pain. Dropping Pikachu, Pinsir looked dazed and wobbled slightly, but was still in the battle.

"Quick Attack before it recovers!"

Realizing what was about to happen, John called out one last command. "Pinsir! Quick, use Tackle!"

Too late as Pikachu quickly covered the ground between them, a silver streak trailing behind him, and rammed himself full force into his opponent. Pinsir finally fell over, spirals in its eyes.

Ash couldn't see his face, but he was sure that John was surprised.

"Congratulations, squire. You have managed to beat my Pinsir." Recalling the Bug Type, John brought a second Pokéball into focus. "But you won't be able to beat my most noble Pokémon! Go Metapod!"

Ash actually waited to see if he was serious about Metapod. Sure enough, a flash of white light later and there it was. A green cocoon with fierce eyes sitting straight up on the ground.

Pikachu looked to Ash. _"I'd feel bad, so maybe Spike can get some training?"_

 _"You dare mock me?!"_ The Metapod shouted. _"I will be the source of your nightmares for_ _weeks_ _if you dare mock the mightiest being since Arceus himself!"_

The Zoroark snorted and moved his bag around on his arm, meeting Spike's gaze with his own. "You're up, Spike. Your very first battle with a Trainer. Let's see what you can do."

Nodding, Spike crawled out of the pack and jumped in front of Ash, with Pikachu already back on his Trainer's shoulder.

The knight across the field smirked, even if they couldn't see it.

"You have made a grave mistake, novice." He called over voice full of confidence. "Metapod, Harden!" A metallic sheen passed over the Bug-Type for a moment, before it returned to normal.

"Spike, use Poison Sting!" Obliging, the Weedle's head spike glowed a dull purple. With the attack charged, Spike rammed into the opposing Metapod.

Seemingly unfazed by the attack, Metapod glared at Spike as a small purple bubble starting forming around it.

"Yes!" Ash cheered. "It's been poisoned! Now all we have to do is wait it out, Spike. In fact, you can start practicing your String Shot in the mean time."

And wait it out (with Spike jumping around and shooting off String Shots) they did. After a while of using Harden, Metapod finally tipped over, falling on to the ground on its side, eyes spiraling.

"Interesting." John voiced, recalling Metapod. "I'd have thought I should've learned not to underestimate Trainers from Pallet Town."

"What do you mean? Have you already battled the other three starters?" Ash asked, Pikachu back on his shoulder.

The helmet bobbed in a nod. "Indeed, although the Trainer just before you seemed like he coud win the League with just a Squirtle and a fancy car. I do not recommend engaging this person. He definitely needs to work on his ego."

Ash frowned. That was definitely Gary. Shaking his head, Ash walked toward John and held out his hand, smiling. "Thanks for the battle, John. I hope to battle you again someday, maybe in the league."

A metal plated hand came into contact with his. "As do I, Sir..." "Ketchum. Ash Ketchum." "Good luck with your Gym Challenge."

_

"So, dat ting - Zoroark - is pretending ta be a Trainer?" Meowth asked the newest addition to their group, all of them sitting comfortably on a blanket out in Viridian Forest.

"Precisely." Was the response. "From the data my... sources have gathered on them, they have the ability to completely mimic anything and anyone they have come into contact with."

James looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means that we are either looking for a deceptively smart and possibly dangerous Pokémon," Colress began. "or one that doesn't know how to properly defend itself from danger. Both can be equally deadly if they are provoked."

Jessie's frown deepened. "But that thing speaks like we do. We could be near one and not even know it."

Colress answered swiftly, shaking his head. "Not likely. They're only native to Unova and we only recently begun to have reason to believe they're in Kalos as well."

"Den what about da twerp, Ash?" Meowth remembered.

Genuinely suprised, Colress shifted his attention to the cat. He wasn't expecting this. "It has a name? How can you be sure?"

"The Pikachu I heard called it Ash." He answered easily, then his eyes opened wide as he realized something. "Wait... if it has a name, den it must 'ave a Trainer!"

Grinning maliciously, Jessie and James glanced between Meowth and themselves, hatching a devious plan and sharing it with simple glances to one another. Most Trainers care about their Pokémon. Surely, if someone has such a rare Pokémon as a Zoroark they _must_ have even more, right? All they have to do is find that Trainer an-

" _Hey!_ "

They turned to an agitated Colress.

"Are you going to fill me in, or what?"

"Oops." They chorused.


	8. Chapter 8

_11 Years and 5 Months Ago_

 _The rain wouldn't stop. No matter how long she waited. No matter how cold the egg got._ _It was as if Arceus himself was punishing the still growing Pokémon._

 _She couldn't help herself_ _. Her sobbing was barely quieter than the freezing downpour. What kind of mother would leave an_ egg _in the cold, harsh rain? An egg that would be completely helpless if a hungry Ekans happened to stumble upon it. And from what she could tell, it was still a very long time from hatching. Its mother had to have just recently lain it._

 _Hugging the black and red-accented egg against her chest to try and keep it warm, Delia Ketchum continued to sob. She waited for days for this little creature's parents to come for it, but to no avail. What was the point of making life if you didn't even want to take responsibility for it?_

 _The fire she constructed had long since gone out, the damp, black ashes sitting silently inside the stone circle base, the smoke long since been dispersed by the rain and wind of the storm._

 _She paused in her sobs to glance at the sky again, the dark clouds not even beginning to lighten. What had she or this egg done to deserve this? Delia didn't want to witness another death. One was enough for her... but the egg! It was a baby Pokémon! So innocent, so pure._

 _And Arceus was punishing them for reasons she didn't understand._ _"Curse you Arceus!" She cried up into the sky, throwing all the anger she had for the parent that abandoned their child into her voice. "Curse you! We did nothing to you! And you're going to kill an innocent Pokémon!"_

 _Delia didn't know where exactly she was– somewhere past Viridian– but she had to get the egg somewhere warm and dry. Not caring too much about herself anymore, she shakily stood, the icey air biting at any exposed part of her body. She shivered, it felt as if it had gotten_ colder _since her outburst._

 _'Great.' She thought bitterly, shifting her jacket around the egg to make sure no part of it was exposed, though she doubted it was dry. 'I pissed off a god and now I'm paying for it.'_

 _Delia started forward, finding an energy she didn't know she had. She would have to leave her stuff there, but all that mattered now was the- no,_ her _egg, not herself._

_

"Alright Pikachu, let's try that new move you used back in Viridian. You know, that electric whip move."

The small group of four, one human and three Pokémon, had stopped and set up camp soon after Ash's battle with Sir John of Viridian. Spike was out of his backpack and was currently swinging around on trees around them, being careful as to not spook Misty on accident when he went by camp. He was working on his Speed and Attack by blasting and swinging through the trees with his String Shot and Poison Sting. Pikachu and Ash were discussing a certain Electric-type's move they both found interesting.

 _"I don't think I can do that again."_ Pikachu responded thoughtfully. " _I'm not as electrically charged as I was when you found those other Pikachu to help me. Plus... I was really angry at those people for hurting you. Maybe I could learn Charge?"_ That was a good point he was making, so Ash followed up the point by pulling out his Pokédex and looking up Pikachu's move list.

"Okay, it says here that you can only learn Charge through 'breeding'? Whatever that means, and Charge _Beam_ through a Technical Machine." Ash inspected something off to the side of the entry. "Hmm. There seems to be a side note here saying to 'never use Charge as a crutch.' Interesting."

 _"Maybe it's referring to how some Pokémon heal when they get hit by certain typed moves?"_ Pikachu guessed.

"Maybe... But hey! We need to get training, so why don't we have a practice battle so we both know our strengths and weaknesses?" Dropping his normal disguise, Ash stretched and moved away from Pikachu, getting on all fours and close to the ground in his improvised battle stance. Ash suddenly realized that even if he walked on two legs normally now, it would never be quite the same as before he evolved.

"Ready?" The Zoroark called over, tensing his arms and legs. He didn't know any type specific moves, but Ash figured even he could grasp basic moves like Tackle to at least get _some_ training in before he decides to take part in a battle.

Plus, he'd feel kinda guilty if he made his Pokémon do all the work and he was lazy.

 _"Ready, Ash!"_ Pikachu yelled back, swinging his tail back and forth. He had no idea from what to expect from his Trainer.

 _'That sounds weird already...'_ One part of his mind said.

 _'Maybe because your Trainer is a Pokémon you idiot.'_ The other chided.

 _"No holding back!"_ Ash yelled, charging Pikachu with a Tackle. Pikachu smirked. Ash already made a mistake. He was sloppy.

Leaping to the side with the help of his tail, Pikachu simultaneously released a Thundershock into Ash. But instead of connecting, the attack went straight through a cloud of smoke.

 _"What?!"_ Pikachu gasped, spinning around in search of his opponent. He could've sworn that Ash was right there. Finally looking up, he saw a dark figure and a flash of turquoise momentarily hover in the air before coming down for a landing on top of Pikachu.

Okay, maybe he wasn't sloppy.

Ash grinned as he rolled off of a groaning Pikachu. He'd managed to trick his partner into thinking he was going for an all out attack. He _did_ go in for a Tackle, just at an angle his starter wouldn't have thought of. Backing up, he saw Pikachu stand and shake the dirt off his fur.

 _"No more illusion_ _s!"_ Pikachu complained. _"This needs to be a fair battle."_

Ash nodded. He could agree to that. Taking his stance again, he sunk his claws in the ground and threw himself forward, landing just ahead of Pikachu. Using his claws again, he managed to tear up a lot of dirt while he slowed for a Sand Attack.

Unable to celebrate, he felt something small impact his chest, sending him only a few feet back. Following the Tackle, the small Electric type released a Thundershock into Ash at point blank, forcing him to retreat and recover.

 _"Man, Pikachu."_ Ash yelped as he dodged away from his fast and ferocious electric partner, managing to weave his way through the Tackles and most of the Thundershocks. _"Who taught you how to battle?"_

Going in for another Tackle, Pikachu responded shortly. _"You need to know how to fight to make it out in the wild."_ Catching his starter off guard and _literally_ , Ash took the attack and closed his claws around the edge of Pikachu's tail, throwing him into the air. He'd decided that it would be the safest thing to target that wasn't solid wood.

Unable to right himself in time, Pikachu flailed, trying to get prepared for his inevitable impact with the ground, only to soon find himself in Ash's furry arms.

 _"Thanks."_ Pikachu sighed, relaxing against Ash's soft fur and grateful for the save.

In the Zoroark's place now stood a human with raven-colored hair and hazel eyes. Even so, the feeling of Ash's fur against Pikachu's own never went away. "No problem, bud." Ash smiled, ever so slightly tightening his grip and walked through the small thicket between here and their camp for the night.

Taking a quick glance to the sky, Ash realized exactly how late it was, and mentally bashed himself for not paying better attention. He also winced at the smoke trail the fire from camp was giving away. He didn't get a great feeling about such a... _giveaway_ to their where they are.

He also would have wondered where Spike was, if the crazy Weedle hadn't come soaring through the trees at that very moment, unable to control himself at high speeds.

Unfortunately for their female traveling companion, he bounced off the ground, over the fire, and landed in Misty's lap.

He had smartly been warned beforehand to meeting her that she had a terrible fear of Bugs. He also found out that neither of his friends knew _why._

They all froze, Misty staring at Spike in shock, Spike doing the same.

 _'No sudden movements.'_ Spike reminded himself. _'Or sudden sounds'_ No talking. He lied still, waiting for Ash to pick him up.

"Misty, just breathe." The disguised Pokémon began carefully. "Just give me a second and don't make any sudden movements."

Misty was about ready to scream when Spike vanished from her lap. She looked at Ash and began to relax. The Bug was in Ash's arms. Not touching her. No more disgusting Bug on her lap.

Relax. Go to sleep. Everything's fine.

Nodding at thoughts that she didn't know she was thinking, she slowly stood and went into her tent, zipping the flap, and lying down.

Everyone else sighed in relief, but then turned to Ash in surprise.

 _"I didn't know you could do that."_ Pikachu said, sending Ash a sideways glance.

"Neither did I until three seconds ago." Ash defended.

Spike was now interested, rightening himself. _"How did you do it then?"_ Shrugging, the Trainer in question frowned trying to answer. "It's like... something told me how, but I don't know what."

 _"Like instinct?"_ Pikachu guessed.

Ash shrugged, sitting down by the fire and sliding his pack off.

Ash realized he didn't know. He thought he just made Misty think that Spike wasn't in her lap anymore. Made her think that she was tired.

 _'Am I psychic?'_ He wondered briefly, before shutting that line of thought down. _'No. That doesn't sound right_ _for some reason.'_

Suddenly he yawned. Man, thinking was exhausting. His stomach growled in agreement and he laughed.

"Heh. Let's go find some berries. I think I still have some sandwich left from yesterday, but we need to get us all something for tonight and the morning."

So thirty minutes and a sundown later, the three of them had a healthy pile of berries stacked by the campfire. Having already eaten his fill, Ash set up his sleeping bag across the campfire from Misty's to give her some personal space.

With that done, Ash yawned tiredly. "Goodnight you two."

Leaving his pack next to him and crawling inside his sleeping bag, Ash dropped his illusion tried to get comfortable. Turning this way and that, he growled in annoyance and stopped moving.

When he was about start another uncomfortable round of shifting and rolling, Ash felt a small weight push up against his stomach. A little surprised, he glanced down to see a small yellow ball with brown stripes running along its back.

"Pikachu?" Ash whispered, careful not to move.

Pikachu's response was slightly subdued, but it came. _"Goodnight, Ash."_

Ash smiled, curling in on himself with his starter in the middle, suddenly extremely comfortable, and fell asleep within moments.

Spike watched the scene peeking over the lip of Ash's backpack. He smiled at the two of them. Comfortable, Spike had a final thought before slipping off into dreamland. _'I'm going to like traveling with them.'_

Unnoticed to anyone in the camp, a light blue flame ignited around the Zoroark's left eye.

_

Delia sighed in frustration. She shouldn't even _be_ up this late. Glancing at the old grandfather clock, she frowned. Almost midnight.

All the lights were off in her house, except for the small table lamp near the sofa, providing her low-quality vision in the living room.

Perhaps it was the fear of losing Ash that kept her up. But that was ridiculous, she told herself. She hadn't had any problem sleeping all week until now.

Maybe it was finally setting in that she no longer had her son with her. Ash was no longer going to be living with her anymore. Ash would still visit and stay every now and again, it wasn't like him to just abandon those who he loved, whether it be platonic or otherwise. He's moved on into the wide world, adventuring to his heart's content and making so many friends and... and... maybe have a normal life.

Delia wasn't stupid or naïve. She knew that because of what Ash was, he'd never be able to live a normal life. There would be people to support him in his times of need when Delia wouldn't be able to.

At least Brock can look after Ash if I can't.

Delia didn't know it, but there were going to times where what friends he had depended on whether he could survive, or meet Giratina.

A sudden chill passed through her. She shivered.

 _'Strange'_ She thought, _'i_ _t_ _should be seventy-five in here.'_

The shadows of night were still when she gazed out the window. Not a soul in sight nor tree trembling. When she felt the cold sweep over her again, she knew immediately something was wrong.

She blinked...

And then she was freezing, holding a soaked jacket with something large and round wrapped up in it, surrounded by trees and getting pelted by a powerful storm.

 _'The night I found his egg.'_ Delia remembered. She saw the forest shift, and a light behind some trees. It couldn't be.

How could she have not seen that all those years ago? She was being observed. Watched. Judged.

And suddenly she was back in her living room, on the sofa, sitting straight up and wide eyed. There was no way. Why hadn't she seen it before? She came to a solution, but it was just another question:

Who gave her Ash's egg, and why?


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you, dear readers and reviewers for encouraging me through this devastating case of writer's block!** **It's been a rough few months, but I plan on getting more chapters done much sooner, as well as make a chapter or two for each location. I would love to know what you guys think!**

 **I sincerely hope none of you have truly lost hope in what I know is only the beginning of a hopefully great and fun piece of fanfiction.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.**

_

He had learned many years ago that the only way to control people was through fear. But he also knew that too much of it made people desperate. And desperate times called for desperate measures.

But in order to gain that level of fear for Team Rocket, he would have to have power.

Now, power is a fickle thing. It can ultimately cause your downfall or make you reach heights you have never even dreamed of. Those in pursuit of power must tread with extreme caution.

He understood that Team Rocket already had a name for itself in Kanto with a sizeable amount of the police on his payroll and the fear that's struck into young Trainers and people when confronted by his organization. If he got involved, it was personal.

However, what they had now were money problems. He had originally begun Team Rocket and managed to successfully sustain with personal funding, but it has since grown far past that point.

Now, Team Rocket could sustain itself with the amount of, ah, _products_ they shipped out every week to the highest bidders. What they did with the product wasn't the business of Team Rocket.

But now, they needed a lucky day. Just to get back into normal processes. Something large, but not to the point of terrorism. _That's_ something they needed to avoid at any cost.

 _'To unite all people within our nation'_ flickered across his mind.

Giovanni grinned as his eyes flew across a sheet of paper, but hesitated on a certain cruise ship's name. Perfect.

Soon, the _S.S. Anne_ will have a new staff.

_

Pewter City's Gym Leader was relaxing while all his brothers and sisters were still asleep. He looked at his watch then back up at the sky. Six-thirty seven. The sun was still rising on the horizon.

Extremely early, yes, but Brock knew that he'd have to go back into Pewter soon to start fixing everybody's breakfast.

When he stood up and slid off of one of the few comfortable rocks that were around Pewter, he heard a familiar voice shouting something. When he listened closely, he almost laughed.

"Pidgeotto, stop trying to eat Spike! You ate breakfast ten minutes ago!" A loud cawing. "I don't mind if you want to have a snack, but we _don't eat_ _teammates!_ "

Brock jogged towards this very familiar voice, and grinned at who he saw.

 _Ash Ketchum_ , all grown up, was currently getting a wingful in his face as he tried desperately to block and protect the Kakuna in his backpack, that looked a little incredulous. A Pikachu was sitting next to the Kakuna, holding onto its sides as it gasped for air.

"Gah!" Ash spat out some feathers. "Pidgeotto, if you _really_ are hungry, then I won't stop you if you go hunting. Misty, back me up on this?" The bird actually stopped its frenzy to look at the person in front of them.

Confused, Brock shifted his attention a little bit ahead of Ash, to see the orange haired tomboy of a girl. She turned to look back at the scene and shrugged. There was something familiar about her, maybe tv from somewhere?

"He's right, you know, Pidgeotto. Go hunting if you're hungry."

Pidgeotto chirped, then got a pointed look from Ash.

"What did she say?" The tomboy said, slowing down to come face to face with the Flying type.

"She said, 'You wouldn't understand. You're human.'" Ash answered, poking Pidgeotto in her back, getting another faceful of wing. When he recovered, he continued. "Even if she is human, I'm sure Misty had to hunt for herself at some point. Stop trying to come up with reasons to eat Spike." The large bird just turned her beak away from him, ignoring the boy's words. Ash growled in frustration.

Brock snorted loudly, then suddenly had to duck away as a small bolt of lighting came flying towards him.

"Woah!" He yelped, trying to get solid footing. There was a lot of flailing around and noise, but he managed to start running back to the Gym with just a few scratches.

Halfway there, he slowed. _'Looks like I'm going to have another challenger soon.'_ He thought to himself, grinning as he jogged back to the Gym.

_

Ash took a deep breath, gazing at the familiar streets and buildings of Pewter City. Pikachu was also looking at the city from his shoulder. The sun was high in the sky, providing a sizeable view of the city from where they stood.

Ash recalled his meeting with a guy named Flint, who was selling rocks. He's a strange man, obviously, but he had a good heart. Actually, something about Flint kind of reminded Ash of...

"It's good to be back." Ash sighed, gazing upon the buildings with a fond smile.

"I'm just glad to be out of that cursed fores–" Misty stopped short, looking behind at Ash. "Wait. you've been here before?"

Ash shrugged, walking past her. "Of course. I even know a certain person here that'll make our day a whole lot better." Even for his disloyal Pidgeotto, but that part didn't need to be said.

It _had_ irked him a bit that upon the capture of Pidgeotto, the chary Pokémon had immediately tried continuing to eat Spike (even after breakfast, _and_ their early lunch). Ash had thought it was just hunger that drove the Flying-type at first, but he was now convinced that Pidgeotto had it out for the Kakuna currently napping in his backpack. He would have to find some sort of common ground with the Flying Type to talk her down. Keeping her in her Pokéball all day isn't fair or a good way to build friendships.

By the time Ash brought them to the Gym, he was all giddy. This got him a strange look from Misty, but he didn't care. He pushed open the doors and walked right past the battlefield and through some other doors.

 _"Are you sure that we can go back here?"_ Pikachu asked, looking back through the door they just walked through. Misty was standing at the threshold, looking around.

"I'm sure." Ash responded confidently, navigating the halls with what seemed like practiced ease.

When he reached a certain room, he paused and grinned.

He was taller, but Ash could never forget the family friend from Pewter standing in front of him.

"Brock!" Ash grinned as the older person turned around, an apron tied around his waist.

Brock laughed as he was hugged by Ash. "Look at you, Ash!" He then ruffled Ash's raven hair through his hat. "All grown up! You look like you could take on the entire world!"

"Heh. How have you and everybody been? It's been too long since I've seen you!" Ash asked as they stepped back from each other. It had been about a year since he last visited Pewter City.

His encounter with that Flint guy just outside of Pewter flashed across his mind.

Brock nodded in agreement. "It has. It's been going great for all of my brothers and sisters as well." He turned back to the oven, picking up a spatula. "And speaking of them, you're just in time for lunch. We can have our battle soon after."

"Deal!" Ash laughed. Maybe their lunch had been too early today. "Oh! Brock, this is Pikachu. Pikachu, this is Brock." Ash said as he motioned to each other. "Brock has been like the brother I never had since I met him."

 _"Does he know?"_ Pikachu asked, but waved to make it seem like he was saying hello.

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did." Ash said under his breath as Brock's siblings poured into the room, surrounding Ash as they tried (and failed) to reach for the cute Pikachu.

After a while, Brock managed to convince them away from Ash for their lunch. With a collective squeal of excitement, they seemed to flow to the next room, surprising Pikachu with exactly how they moved.

 _"It's like they have this practiced."_ He said, watching Brock effortlessly wade through the children. _"Kinda reminds me of this circus act one of the Bulbasaur showed me back at Oak's place."_

Ash glanced at him, then back through the door. "You know, he's had to take care of them for a while now, right?" He asked quietly. "This isn't an act or anything. Brock alone has taken care of every single one of their needs and most of their wants. With the money coming from the Gym he's been able to do all of this. It's incredible."

Pikachu was quiet for bit after that. _"Sorry."_ He said finally.

Ash cleared his throat, smiling. "Don't worry about it. Let's go have some lunch. Something to pull us back into shape." Ash wondered if he should tell Brock about the weird guy at the edge of the city that's selling rocks. Eh, it can wait.

Pikachu looked back at the door they came through. _"What about Misty? We kind of left her back at the battlefield..."_

"Oh, all right."

_

"The battle between challenger Ash Ketchum and Gym Leader Brock shall now begin! Are both Trainers ready?"

"Don't expect me to go easy on you!" Brock called merrily from across the battlefield, unclipping a nondescript Pokéball from his belt.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Ash grinned. "You ready Pikachu?"

Pikachu jumped. _"Wha- me? This seems like a bad idea."_

"Don't worry." Ash tried to reassure in a quiet voice. "As long as he doesn't send out Onix first, we should be okay."

 _"What's an_ _Onix_?" Pikachu asked apprehensively.

"Are both Trainers ready?" The referee asked again.

"Yes!" Brock yelled.

"You know it!" Ash called.

"Very well! Let the battle between Brock the Pewter Gym Leader and Challenger Ash Ketchum begin!"

Ash wasted no time sending out Pikachu first. He figured Pikachu was the obvious answer, with Pidgeotto still acting out, and he wasn't sure with how it would go for Spike since it would be hard for the Kakuna to move.

Pikachu and Ash watched as Brock easily threw out one of his two Pokéballs.

"Go, Onix!"

Oh no.

The object opened up and released the heavy stone snake. It was humongous. It's head alone was probably two or three Pikachus from one side to the other. It's stony body was made up of many boulders, but each had different edges, making every one unique.

Ash could _feel_ Pikachu's confidence shrivel.

"That's _an Onix?!"_ He yelped.

Ash called out to the distressed Pikachu. "Er... Don't be intimidated by it's size! Just focus on hitting it!"

 _"With_ what?!" He cried as Onix swung his tail up and around for a Slam.

 _"Woah!"_ Pikachu scurried out of the way and behind some of the boulders on the field. The attack kicked up some sand, disrupting their vision.

"I don't know... try a Thundershock!"

A small yellow bolt of lightning flew at Onix, only to harmlessly sputter across his face, completely ineffective.

Ash frowned, then smacked himself in the face. "Ah man. I forgot Onix is a Rock and Ground Type." No Normal or Electric Typed moves. "You have the speed advantage! Keep dodging for as long as you can."

Taking his eyes off the battle, Ash looked at the ceiling. Surely there was some way to deal with Onix... maybe Brock hadn't fixed the – Aha!

_

Up in the stands, Misty frowned. If he's ever going to be able to repay her for the bike, why is he gazing at clouds when he needs to– oh.

She saw it just around the same time Brock commanded Onix to use another attack, Rock Tomb this time. If Ash does this correctly he can cut Onix down easily.

And begin to be able to pay her back.

_

"Pikachu! Climb up the attack!"

The little yellow rodent did so, as his size made it no problem. Up and up the Electric Type climbed, until he was near the ceiling.

"Quick Attack!" Ash yelled, full of energy. "Aim for the pipes!"

Pikachu flipped off the final rock and glowed faintly white. Spinning in the air, he saw the pipes, realized he had only just enough time for his tail to hit, and made a split second decision.

All of the Normal-Typed energy of the attack condensed within his tail and it shone a brilliant silver. It stuttered briefly, but lasted just long enough to slice through the pipes.

Water sprayed down on Onix, making him roar in anger. The water didn't do much damage by itself, but Onix definitely felt the debilitating effect. It tried to shake off the water, but Ash quickly took advantage of Onix's state.

"Pikachu, water conducts electricity! Use Thundershock!"

A spark later and soon Onix was writhing in pain as electrical energy coursed through every crack along his stony hide.

As the attack lost its power, Onix was swaying, eyes unfocused. In one last ditch effort he tried to Slam Pikachu, but ended up falling on top of the tired Electric Type. For a few moments, the only sound in the room was the water slowly dripping onto the Gym's rock floor.

The referee raised two hands. "Onix and Pikachu are no longer able to battle. It is a draw!"

"Pikachu?" Ash called. "Brock, I think Pikachu is underneath Onix."

Brock nodded his head. "Well done, Onix. Return."

When the red beam engulfed the rock snake, Ash ran onto the battlefield to pick up his electric starter. "Amazing job, Pikachu."

As he returned back to his side of the field, Brock spoke up.

"Great job, Ash!" He laughed. "Not many non Water or Grass Types have been able to defeat Onix! Let alone an Electric Type!"

Ash scratched the back of his head and looked off to the side. "Didn't I just soak Onix and shock him? That doesn't seem very fair when you think about it."

Brock smiled, then chuckled. "It's okay, Ash. You used everything you could on the battlefield." He reassured. "Pikachu trusted you enough to listen to you when you told him to climb Onix's Rock Tomb. That shows the great bond you have with him already! How long exactly have you been with your Pikachu?"

Ash's eyes went to the Pikachu in his arms. He smiled, and gently set Pikachu in his bag. "A couple weeks, maybe less."

He stood up and unclipped a Pokéball from his belt, seeing Brock do the same.

"Interesting." Brock nodded. "Are you ready to send out your final Pokémon?"

"Er... hopefully." Ash chuckled. "You're up, Pidgeotto!"

_

Flint meandered around the city, not really going anywhere, but trying to think.

 _'That kid thinks he knows Brock better than I do.'_ Flint thought.

Granted, that kid's been here before. The last time he was here, about a year ago, with another woman, who Flint assumed to be his mother. The kid looked younger then, and a lot more like his mother than he does now.

Even so, he would bet money on the fact that the kid probably put together who exactly Flint was in relation to Brock's family.

"I don't know what to do..." Flint sighed.

He could be a responsible adult and go take care of his family, or be the guy that sells stones for a living. One certainly sounded better than the other, but Flint couldn't bring himself to confront his son.

The sound of his footsteps told him he wasn't walking on cement anymore. Looking up, Flint realized he must've unconsciously walked to Pewter's Gym. The great stone building loomed over him as if it was challenging him.

Taking a deep breath, Flint took a step towards the doors. Then another. Before he knew it, he was holding onto the handle, slowly turning the door knob.

Suddenly the door burst open, sending Flint off to the side, causing him to shout out in surprise and almost land on his back. Flint heard the rushed footsteps of someone; probably that kid, Ash, and the girl that was following him.

Looking up, he saw them both sprinting in the direction of the Pokémon Center. Hmm. Brock hasn't lost his touch.

The door hadn't closed in the kids' rush. Flint wasn't sure whether the door was welcoming him or taunting him.

Putting on a brave face, Flint stood and stepped through the door.

_

Ash and Misty were sitting in one of the booths at the Pokémon Center, waiting for Nurse Joy's all clear. It was mostly idle chat at first, then Misty brought up his latest Gym battle.

"You know, if you want, you can use one of my Water type Pokémon. It'll make things easier for you against Brock."

Ash shook his head, not really open to the idea of someone else basically giving him a win. "Wouldn't that be like cheating? I mean, say if I _did_ borrow one of your Pokémon, and I won. It wouldn't help my team get any experience from battling." He took a bite out of his sandwich, courtesy of the Pokémon Center. "Besides, I need to come up with a new strategy for Pidgeotto to beat Geodude."

"If she'll listen." Misty joked, but Ash didn't laugh.

A loud ding signaled for Ash and Misty to stand and make their way over to the desk. Nurse Joy stood behind it with a sweet smile.

"Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower? Your Pokémon are all healed up and ready to go!"

As Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, Ash retrieved his Pokéballs, Misty doing to same.

"Hey there, Pikachu." Ash laughed as he was nuzzled. "Thank you, Nurse Joy."

They exited the Center and moved a small ways into the forest. Ash had one thing on his mind: training.

_

"Do you remember that move you used to cut open the pipes?" Ash asked as he kept a careful eye on Pideotto, who was on the opposite side of the clearing as Spike, dodging Water guns from Misty's Staryu and Goldeen.

 _"-do it again, though."_

"Sorry Pikachu, what was that?" Ash said, focusing on his starter. He must've accidentally ignored him. Thankfully, Pikachu didn't seem too perturbed.

 _"It's fine. What I was saying is that I do remember, and can probably do it again. Through practice, of course."_

Ash nodded. It sounded reasonable enough. Suddenly, he had an idea.

 _"Ash, why is there a glowing lightbulb above your head?"_ Pikachu asked.

"Oops, I saw that in a cartoon once. Anyways, what did it feel like? Using the move, I mean."

As Pikachu explained what the move felt like, and how he thought it worked, Ash listened intently.

_

 _This isn't happening._ _There's no way this is happening._

These were Brock's thoughts as he saw the man across the battlefield.

"Brock..." The man said, his voice sounding as gravelly as the Gym floor. "son."

 _This is totally happening._

"Flint." Brock replied flatly, crossing his arms. "Long time no see. Didn't expect to see you at all anymore."

"You knew about my dream to become a great Pokémon Trainer. I didn't want to come back as a failure. So, I..." Flint trailed, suddenly feeling unsure about whether this was a good idea or not. He was here, so he might as well see it through to the end.

"Decided not to come home and care for your children, your _family_? How could you put us through that, Flint? They needed a father, and I knew _damn well_ that would never happen." Brock didn't feel guilty for snapping at him. After all, the man had left for just about seven years.

"So, why are you back? Only to say a proper goodbye this time?"

Flint shook his head sadly. "No, son. I came back because I wanted to say I was sorry. For being such a failure that I couldn't even look my children in their eyes."

He took off his red wool cap and ripped off his fake beard, revealing a face that looked strikingly similar to Brock's.

"Go chase your dream, Brock. I deeply regret not being there for them. For you." These heartfelt words came pouring out of Flint, which made it seem that the man was desperately trying to earn the forgiveness of his son.

Which, in all fairness, he was.

Brock sighed. The poor man really did want to be there, and Brock knew the only solution he had.

With Brock disappearing around a corner, Flint feared the absolute worst. But, when he came back around, he was carrying what looked like a heavy stack of paper.

"Notes." Brock said simply. "Everything about everything in here; what each of my brothers' and sisters' likes and dislikes are, breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes, how to sew- you'll need that mostly for Lucy, she rips up her dresses, not mention the broken water pipe in the Gym..."

Flint hurriedly took the stack from him and tried to proccess so much information at once. "Uh..."

_

It was far past nighttime when Pidgeotto fell asleep. She had finally given up on trying to eat Spike, which was _progress_ , she still seemed to give him the _eye_ every now and then. Ash sighed happily. It was a step in the right direction.

Overall, the day of training went really smoothly. Pikachu and Ash managed to find out that Pikachu had learned Iron Tail, even if it was fidgety and not at all consistent. He had also learned to better control what direction his Thundershocks went and improve his Quick Attack.

Pidgeotto, in her goal of evasion, incidentally learned Quick Attack and Agility, two very useful moves. Ash ended up on the receiving end of one of her Quick Attacks when a Water Gun from Staryu forced her to veer off target.

Spike had enough common sense during a spar with Pikachu to figure out Harden and improve on his String Shot and Poison Sting. Pikachu was moving in for a Tackle, but the Kakuna, instead of trying to dodge, he tensed his body to the point of drastically raising his Defense as long as he focused.

Ash figured out some new moves as well as techniques for himself that he found useful. For a while, he practiced how to perform Fury Swipes. While it was incredibly easy to grasp, executing the five swipes in a way that allowed for him to hit quickly wasn't as easy. Ash also learned how to make a Scary Face to lower his opponent's speed. After fidgeting with the Pokédex, he discovered some moves he wanted to try and learn. He made a list, so if it turned out he couldn't learn a move, he would just move on to the next one.

He and his team were certainly tired, but Ash would never ask something of his team that he wouldn't do himself.

Ash breathed a final good night to his team as he drifted off to dreamland himself.

_

That morning, Ash and Misty made their way to Brock's Gym. Barely stopping at the PokéMart for some potions, they made fairly good time getting to the Gym.

Opening the doors to the Gym, they noticed the leaking pipe was no longer leaking. Ash figured Brock had it fixed over night.

"Brooock!" Ash called loudly.

The lights suddenly switched on. A strange man was sitting was sitting on the rock Brock normally sat on before a match. A man that kind of reminded Ash of...

"Flint?"

Sure enough, Flint started laughing. It was lighthearted, but Ash didn't expect it anyways.

"Welcome, Ash!" He called back. "It's good to see you! Brock actually wanted me to tell you something! He asked me to tell you to meet him at the entrance to Route 3!"

"Route 3? Doesn't that route lead to Mt. Moon? What is he doing there?"

Flint chuckled. "Why don't you go find out for yourself? I feel like we'll all have a blast!"

"Why would the Gym Leader be at the entrance to Route 3?" Misty muttered confusedly.

"Thanks Flint!" Ash said as he walked back out the door. "See you later!"

"Goodbye, children! Have fun!"

_

Brock smiled as he heard footsteps approach behind him. He was gazing across the lake as the sun slowly dipped across the horizon.

"I guess dad told you where I was. I suppose it's the time to ask." He said.

He spun around, seeing the three faces of Ash, Pikachu, and Misty. Ash of course, was staring at him with wide, curious eyes, sparkling with hope that his older brother figure would be traveling with them.

Brock smiled, having already guessed the answer, but he wanted to see how they would react.

"I want to become the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder, but I never could while I was here in Pewter City. Now that my dad is back, I have that opportunity!"

Brock turned to look at Ash. "What I want to ask you, Ash, is if I could travel with you and..."

"Misty." The tomboyish girl said simply. That name sounded _really_ familiar...

"You and Misty?" He finished.

Ash grinned broadly and shouted, taking both Misty and Pikachu off guard. "Of course! How could I _not_ say yes! Let's go! On to Cerulean City!"

Without a second thought, he took off running gleefully in the direction of the large mountain, Pikachu hanging on his shoulder for dear life. Barely a moment later, he heard a pair of voices shout in surprise. Looking back, he saw Brock and Misty running after him, calling for him to slow down.

Ash Ketchum laughed as he kept up his pace, wanting to cover as much ground as he could before they had to set up camp.

_

 **I wonder what Team Rocket's up to behind the scenes?**

 **In the mean time, thank you for reading, and please tune in next time when our heroes traverse the tunnels of Mt. Moon**


End file.
